Camisado
by ravenxeyes
Summary: COMPLETE. Zack listened as he could feel his little brother’s scream echo in his bones. He listened as the scream became enveloped underwater.
1. I Never Gave a Damn About the Weather

The weather reflected the Earth's mood today. Rain poured angrily over the streets of Boston, leaving the usually calm nights screaming with thunder. Ten seconds, another angry clap. Then thirteen, and another.

Zack lay in bed, counting seconds until the storm began to wither away in the early hours of the morning. Four thirty-seven and zero hours of sleep. Normally, sleeping would be his first priority, yet his sleeping habits were as abnormal as the weather in early December.

It wasn't even like he was tired. Zack's eyes remained open and eager, and his energy was just as present as it was the day before. He simply could not sleep. Sitting up in bed, he rubbed his sleepless eyes as another bolt of lightning reflected off the window. Aggravated, Zack stumbled out of bed, stepping across an array of dirty clothes. He pulled the blinds over the window, leaving the storm out of view. In the still darkness, he could hear his brother's steady breathing, harmonizing with the rainfall. He envied Cody for many things, yet sleep was never one of them.

Zack felt his way back to his bed and fell beneath the covers once again, for the third time tonight, and forced his eyes closed.

_"Can you keep a secret?"_

_A voice; familiar._

_"Well, can you? Can you promise not to tell? Don't tell mom, or I'll hurt you…"_

_Water. Lots and lots of water. Cody was knee deep in water, standing amongst an ominous sea of blackened oceans. He didn't move, yet the tide didn't stop for his hesitation._

_"Promise me, Cody."_

_Another wave. Stronger this time, crashing up against his chest, knocking him backwards. His hands hit the bottom of the ground as he caught himself, and then began to sink._

_"You better not tell, or you might disappear."_

_'Disappear?' Cody thought. 'You haven't even spoken yet…' His body began to get consumed by the water. The water, which seemed alive._

_Closer and closer, Zack's presence began to loom over Cody's weakened body. He ran a cold hand though his baby brother's hair, and leaned his head close to his._

_"You better keep your mouth shut, or I might go too…"_

Awake. Cody's eyes dazed open, taking in the room around him. He sat up, stretching his arms and letting out a big yawn. Rubbing his eyes, he looked over at the clock on the nightstand. Nine fifty two was a reasonable time to wake up on a Sunday morning.

Cody rolled out of bed and brought his blankets together neatly in attempt to bring some order to the distorted bedroom. He looked over to Zack, sleeping calmly, as usual. He tiptoed to the door quietly and placed his hand on the doorknob as something hit him. '…_What did I dream about last night?_' He thought as vague memories flooded back to him. He couldn't remember completely, but he could remember a sea of darkness. Shrugging it off, he left the room.

"Good morning, Cody!" Carey called from across the room, picking up loose dishes and silverware and placing them in the dishwasher.

"Good morning mom." Cody sat down at the kitchen table, giving a disapproving look to the empty plate in front of him.

"Sorry there's no breakfast, I'm about to head out and I'm going to be late. There are some waffles in the freezer." Carey dried her hands on a paper towel quickly before pacing to the closet for her coat.

"Where are you going so early?" Cody said as he stood up to make his own breakfast.

"Church. I'll be back in a few hours, I need to run some errands afterwards as well." She buttoned her jacket and grabbed the umbrella off its stand.

Cody stared at her blankly. "…Church?"

"Yeah. I figured since it's the new month, I should go apologize for being so sinful over the past thirty days." Cody raised an eyebrow. "I agree, November was not pretty." Carey opened the door. "I'll be back in a bit!"

"But…we're not even…-!" The front door cut him off. "…Catholic." Cody shook his head, then proceeded to hunt down the Eggos.

_"Cody?" Zack's voice echoed far off into the distance. He had thought he heard something, like waves crashing against the shore. But he couldn't see it, or his brother._

_But he knew he was there._

_He couldn't feel the water, but he knew it was there as well. He knew the water was there beneath him, and he was floating. _

_"Help!" Zack heard the voice again. And this time, he heard splashing. He listened as he could feel his little brother's scream echo in his bones. He listened as the scream became enveloped underwater. _

Zack jolted up in bed with a gasp. What just happened? He looked at the time, twelve o'clock on the dot. It was late, even for him. Then he glanced to Cody's bed, and grew nervous when he wasn't lying within it. Although, Cody would never sleep this late. "He must be in the living room…" Zack thought aloud as he fumbled out of bed towards the door.

"Morning, Zack! Or should I say good afternoon?" Cody took his eyes off the television screen as Zack walked in front of him. He stared at his little brother for a good five seconds before Cody began to get a bit creeped out.

"Uh…? Can I help you?" Cody set down the game controller, he was losing anyways.

Zack shrugged. _'He's not drowning…'_ "Is it still raining?"

"A bit, but it slowed down a lot since yesterday."

"Where's mom?"

"Church."

"…Church?"

"Yeah, I have no idea." Cody turned the television off. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Zack ignored Cody's question and walked towards the window, staring below at the streets. People shifted swiftly by, umbrellas in hand and destination in mind. Zack pressed his forehead against the cool glass. "Yanno, I think I'm gonna just take it easy today."

Cody stood beside him, looking down at the city as well. "Kind of like you do every day…?" Zack's solemn expression twisted into a light smile as he playfully punched his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, kinda like that." Zack stepped away from the window and took his usual seat on the sofa.

Cody watched his brother as he turned the television back on and brainlessly flipped through the channels. "I'm surprised, usually when you wake up your first thought is 'food.'"

"I'm not really that hungry." Zack stopped browsing on the weather channel. He turned up the volume and fixed his eyes on the tall man with the black hair and the funny looking suit. His serious expression emphasized the foul announcement he had.

_"We will be experiencing some heavy rainfall after this short period of sunshine, which should last till later in the evening tonight. Heavy storms should last though the night and into tomorrow, at a temperature of about 40-50 degrees, leaning more towards the cold side in the Boston area…"_

"At least it won't be raining all day today." Cody stated. Zack still focused his eyes on the man, almost mesmerized.

"Hey Cody…Do you think that's a wig?"

"…What?"

"His hair looks awfully fake…"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Sure Zack, sure."


	2. Causing a Commotion

**Author's Note: **Thank you guys for the kind reveiws ^^

**Disclaimer: **The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (c) Disney; Chapter Titles (c) Panic at the Disco

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"…And now, to solve the problem, you need to find the circumference of the circle, using this equation…"

Geometry seemed to last longer than usual, if that was even possible. Zack's caffeinated eyes stared anxiously at the clock, then to the white board, then to the clock. Repeat.

"Once you find the circumference, all you need to do is…"

Another almost-all-nighter. The fake-haired weather man was right, and the storm surely picked up like he said it would. The rain came down like bullets on the roof of the school, making this Monday morning more dreary than normal.

"This worksheet will cover this entire chapter, but I only want you to do the first fifteen problems in section two for homework…I will be collecting this next class, so try your best."

Zack didn't even bother glancing at the foreign worksheet. He shoved it in his binder and put his head down on his desk, listening for the bell to ring.

"Zack?" Miss Marley tapped her artificial nails on the surface of his desk. Zack lifted his head up slowly, not wanting to make eye contact. "Maybe if you weren't up all night playing video games, you'd be passing my class instead of sleeping in it."

She stood there for a moment, waiting for one of Zack's sarcastic responses. When he kept his daze downward, she decided to just let him be.

The bell rang, and Zack watched the students around him gather their belongings into their backpacks and scurry off to third period. Zack picked up his possessions and slowly made his way towards Miss Marley's desk. "Um, Miss Marley?"

The teacher stopped erasing the white board and turned around, surprised at who she saw. "Yes Zack?"

"Am I really…failing this class too?"

Miss Marley shuffled through her grade books, found her second period class section, and read off the grades Zack had received. "So total, you have a 63 in geometry." Zack looked to his feet. "Which is technically almost passing, I guess…"

"Is there, um, anything that I can do to improve that grade?"

Miss Marley lowered her glasses. It was hard to take him seriously. "Yes. Pay attention." She closed her grade book. "And actually pass in the assignments I give you for homework."

"Sorry, I haven't exactly been sleeping well lately…" Zack rubbed the back of his head.

Miss Marley noticed the bags under Zack's eyes and sighed. "Well, that's not exactly a good excuse." A pause. "Here, I'll write you a pass for your next class." She opened the top right-hand drawer on her desk and pulled out a small stack of bright blue sticky notes. "Where will you be heading?"

Zack thought for a minute. "Biology, in room…." Another minute to think. "207."

She scribbled a few things down, and marked the pass with her signature. "There you go; I'll see you tomorrow in class."

"Thanks." Zack took the pass from her hands.

"Make sure you do your homework!" Miss Marley called as Zack left the room.

--x--

"Cut it out!" Cody struggled to get passed the small wall of people in front of him. The tallest one smirked.

"What? Are you afraid you're going to miss your ride or something?"

"Uh, yes, actually."

Zack looked over to find Cody being bullied…again. He sighed. The right thing to do would be to go over and help him. The wrong thing to do would be to laugh it off and go on the bus without Cody. Zack decided the wrong idea was more profitable.

Annoyed, Cody tried to push his way through, but the tall one only pushed back, and he pushed back much harder. Cody stumbled backwards into a locker.

"Loser." The tall one stated as him and his group strutted away.

"Jerk." Cody frowned as he picked up the contents of his backpack and placed them back into his bag carefully. He sat there for a moment, not wanting to look at the pouring rain outside and the absence of a ride home. Sighing angrily, he stood up, putting his hood over his head and walking towards the front of the school. The rain had begun to get heavier.

"Two miles home…In the rain…"

Cody took a deep breath and headed out.

--x--

The doors of the Tipton were slammed open with frustration, as a very soggy Cody charged through. Maddie watched as he stomped over to the elevators, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him.

"…Miss the bus?" Maddie asked Cody, sounding a bit concerned.

Cody shot her an annoyed glance, and continued to impatiently take his anger out on the elevator button.

"Zack said you got in a fight and missed the bus, is everything alright?" This caught Cody's attention.

"He knew…? Then, why didn't he…"

The elevator arrived, and Cody didn't bother looking back at Maddie. He punched in the floor number, and as the elevator went up, so did his aggravation. It came to a stop and Cody hustled to his suite, shoving the key in the lock and pushing the door open.

Zack looked up from the kitchen table, surprised almost at Cody's presence in the doorway.

"Why?" Cody asked as he threw his backpack to the ground.

"Why what." Zack said, unconcerned and uninterested. He really wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Why didn't you come help me?" Cody demanded. "I had to walk two miles home in the pouring rain because I missed the bus!"

"Sucks to be you." Zack put his attention back to his comic book.

Cody ripped the book from his hands. "Why didn't you say something?"

Zack felt his temper rise. "Because you know what, maybe it was nice to see you be the weak one for once." He took a step towards his brother, who held his ground. "Maybe I'm tired of always getting the short end of things."

"What the heck are you talking about?" He was pretty sure Zack always got what he wanted: good friends, girls, popularity. "And it's not my problem you can't live up to other people's expectations."

"Well, sorry I can't live up to my perfect little brother's expectations." Zack shoved Cody to the side violently, knocking him to the ground. "Go clean up, you're making a mess of the room."

Cody stared at Zack, confused, as he left the room, not bothering to close the door. Cody stood up as Zack came back in.

"By the way, I'm borrowing five bucks."

"H-hey! You can't just-!"

And then Zack was gone. Cody looked down at his wet, muddy shoes and rubbed his aching shoulder that had collided with the counter. Twice now, he was knocked over today. On the counter, there was a note titled 'Zack and Cody:'

'_I'll be working a bit later than usual, because there isn't a show tonight. I'll be home by eight, there are frozen pizzas in the freezer for dinner. Love mom xoxo'_

Cody set the note back down on the counter and made his way to his room to grab some clean clothes.

"What the heck is his problem…" Cody thought aloud as he pulled a pair of sweatpants and a clean t-shirt out of his drawer. Zack had defiantly been moody lately, but he was never _that_ rude. If he were a girl at least he could blame it all on PMS. Maybe it was puberty, or a full moon. Cody wasn't too sure.

But he was sure of the fact that, after being drenched for what seemed life forever, he was coming down with something.


	3. Give me Envy, Give me Malice

Zack wasn't truly sure of what he was doing or where he was going, he just didn't want to be around Cody right now. He stepped into the elevator, which was occupied by a child, and what looked like the child's older sister. The three year old gripped her sisters hand tightly, afraid of the strange boy who had just accompanied them on their trip to the lobby. Zack decided to go with the flow and stop by the lobby as well.

The doors opened and Zack pushed ahead of the two girls, making his way towards the candy counter, where his favorite girl was.

"Hey Zack." Maddie called from over her shoulder as she stacked rows of Hershey bars in their designated slots. She turned around to face him with a smile. "How may I help you?"

Zack pondered her question for a moment, not bothering to return her kind character. "I'll have three of those chocolates."

Maddie took three down from the shelf and placed them in front of Zack. "That'll be four-fifty."

Zack rummaged through his pocket and drew out a five. Maddie took the money from his hand and began to gather his change.

"You have a sweet tooth today or something…?" Maddie handed him two quarters.

"No, I'm just hungry. Thanks." Zack took the change apathetically and without another word, he left the lobby. Maddie watched him saunter away quickly in time for the elevator. She shrugged off his behavior as she continued to stock shelves. It was better to not get involved.

Two figures in the corner of the small space were heading to level five, so Zack decided to head there too. Level five was where one of the lounges was located. At night and on weekends, it was usually occupied by groups of people just wanting to hang out or study. But on Monday evenings, the room was usually left vacant.

Zack took a seat on the large armchair by the window. He stared blankly at the dark sky, which looked tired and worn down from producing endless amounts of rain.

The longer he looked outside, the more guilty he began to feel about leaving Cody to defend himself at school. He searched through his mind and could remember Cody's confused expression as he knocked him over. He remembered that he was shivering, but you couldn't blame him for being cold. The temperature outside had begun to drop day by day, welcoming the winter season. Neither him nor Cody were fans of the weather in December.

Thinking of Cody made Zack angry. "Everything's always Cody this, Cody that…Cody did this, and oh Zack, what did you do…?" Zack whispered aloud, unwrapping a Hershey bar. He was craving real food, but that wasn't exactly an option right now. _'At least the sugar will help me stay awake.'_

-x-

Cody stepped out of the steaming hot shower feeling much better now than he did earlier. Better physically, at least. He towel-dried his hair and threw on some clean clothes, thinking. Zack had been acting a bit strange lately, especially around him. Cody wiped down the foggy mirror and stared closely at his reflection. He didn't look any different than he did a few days ago. He could use a haircut, but he saw no other visible reason why Zack should be so aggravated with him.

Maybe Zack is just stressing out about something, which is highly unlikely. _'I'm normally the one who stresses and worries, Zack just follows along with everything…'_ Cody thought as he left the bathroom.

Looking around at the suite, Cody realized that he kind of make a mess of the room. The floor was coated in muddy water stains, and being the OCD person he is, his first thought was to clean it up.

-x-

_Water. Lots and lots of water. Zack felt like he had been here before. _

_Screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. Zack felt like he had heard this before._

_Cold. Everything around him was frozen. The chill in the air seeped beneath his clothes and under his skin. There was no escaping the cold._

_There was no escaping the patient's fate._

_Unless…-_

_.  
_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The alarm beside Zack's nightstand began to blare, as he drifted out of his slumber, leaving the memorable dream behind.

.

_He could hear his heart in his throat and the sirens in the air._

_.  
_

A lazy arm struggled from underneath the covers, searching for a way to stop the blaring.

.

_He couldn't see anything. All he wanted to see was his older brother._

_But he wasn't there for him, and he never would be._

_.  
_

Zack opened his eyes and angrily turned off the alarm.

.

_Then suddenly, he couldn't hear anything at all…  
_

.

Zack sat up in bed, still groggy, but felt accomplished that he got a solid four hours of sleep. He looked over to Cody and, to his surprise, he was still sleeping.

Zack got up from his bed and walked tip-toed to Cody, who looked somewhat decided to leave his brother be.

_._

_Everything went black…  
_

_._

"Cody!" Carey whispered loudly from the doorway.

Cody opened his eyes robotically to the sound of his name and shot up in bed. The sudden movement of his body made him feel dizzy. He pressed his hands against his aching forehead in attempt to stop the pounding.

"Cody, come on wake up. You're going to be late for school!" He never slept in like this, especially on a week day. Carey flipped on the light switch. The bright lights didn't help his headache. "Honey, are you alright?" She asked with sympathy, taking a seat down next to him. "You look awful, Cody."

It must have been true, since he felt awful. His whole body was burning, and his head was spinning.

Zack walked into the room, shooting a quick glace to Cody, who was rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Mom, I don't feel well…" Cody said quietly, as to not damage his sore voice.

"I can tell," Carey said. "Zack would you get me the thermometer, please?"

He ignored his mother's request and continued to shuffle through his these-clothes-might-be-clean pile on the floor.

"…Zack?"

"Why should I?"

Carey's eyebrows narrowed. "Because your brother is sick, and I would appreciate it if you took a minute out of your day to help him out a bit."

Zack rolled his eyes dramatically, and did as he was told.

Carey focused her attention back to Cody, who was reaching for a tissue. "Any reason as to why you caught this cold? You never get sick."

Cody thought for a second, wondering how he should answer her question. "I…had to walk home yesterday."

"You walked all the way home yesterday in the rain?" Carey said, unpleasantly surprised. "Why? I know I was working, but you could have taken the bus, or called me and I could have left…"

"I missed the bus."

"What happened?"

Zack reappeared and threw the object of Carey's request down on to the bed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Thank you Zack." She said as she handed the thermometer to Cody. "Do you think you'll be alright by yourself for a bit if I drive Zack in to school?"

Cody sighed. He hated missing school almost more than anything. "I'll be fine."

-x-

Zack buckled his seat belt as Carey pulled out of the parking garage. "Now Zack," she stated, fully in 'concerned mother' mode. "I want an honest answer to what happened yesterday."

"I don't know."

"That's not being honest."

"He was probably getting beat up somewhere."

Carey began to grow irritated. "Then why didn't you help him?

"I wanted to make the bus in time. Better just him getting sick than the both of us."

"I don't understand how you can be so selfish Zack, especially after all that Cody's done for you!"

Carey stopped the car in front of the school.

"All Cody's ever done for me…" Zack stepped out of the car. "…Is make me look bad."

He slammed the car door closed.


	4. Every Word Gets You Closer to Hell

**Author's Note:** Hey guys (: Sorry this chapter is kind of short. I have exams to study for all week, and I need to take them next week so I haven't been able to get much done. The next chapter will be longer though, I promise! I'll try to get it up a bit early too. Thanks for reading!

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Zack speared a piece of macaroni and cheese with his fork, admiring it for a moment before devouring it. He hadn't eaten a full meal in a while, and although cafeteria food wasn't his first priority, it was better than nothing.

This morning had gone by fairly quickly, but only because he slept through it. He had a vague memory of what he learned in, erm, whatever class he was in, but not much memory.

The feeling of being surrounded made Zack realize he wasn't alone anymore.

"Hey Martin," came a voice from behind him.

Zack looked up and immediately recognized the figure behind him. He was tall, and had the tendency for beating people up. Preferably Cody.

"Mind if I join you?" He placed his lunch tray next to where Zack was seated.

"Uh, sure." He awkwardly shifted his chair to the side, making room for the tall kid.

"I'm Jayden, but I'm pretty sure you already know that." Jayden flashed Zack a crooked grin that needed braces.

"Yeah, I knew that." Zack said almost sarcastically. To be honest he wasn't positively sure of his name until right now. Jared? Joseph? Jayden? They were all the same to him.

"So your brother seems to be absent today? That's quite a surprise."

"Yeah, he caught a cold from the weather…" Zack hesitated for a moment. "…but he looked completely fine this morning." Lies.

"Ha, I probably just scared him off. Maybe he would have fought back if he didn't wimp away from school today."

"Yeah, I gotta admit, he's a pretty big loser." Zack shoved another forkful of mac-and-cheese down his throat in attempt to shut himself up.

"Maybe you should beat some sense into him every once in a while, yanno? Show him a taste of reality?" He ran a hand through his untamed, unnaturally black hair.

"Yeah, like he would ever fight back. He couldn't defend himself from a four year old."

"Ha! That's a good one."

"Yeah. He's kind of living proof that getting A+'s on tests doesn't get you around much."

"Defiantly not. Well, actually, it could get you head first in a dumpster."

"And Cody's defiantly been there before."

"Damn, and I missed that?"

Zack finished his meal and put his fork down on the tray. "Yeah. And, he's afraid of like, everything." He got up to throw his tray away, and Jayden followed. He was on a roll now. "He flips out whenever he sees a spider." Zack paused, and Jayden laughed. "He also still sleeps with a blankie."

"Seriously? Dude, that's great. Your brother is such a tool."f

"Yeah, I know. It's embarrassing."

"I can't wait 'till he finds the guts to come back to school so I can use all that against him." He followed Zack out of the cafeteria.

Zack gave him a confused glance. "Uh, what exactly are you-"

"Well, I'm gonna go skip history class and graffiti the school's basement with some friends." Jayden announced to Zack, then looking around himself to make sure no one else heard.

Zack continued to stare at the himf blankly. "Dude. You're gonna go graffiti the school's basement… which nobody ever sees… in the middle of the day, during school hours?"

He looked to Zack like he was speaking crazy. "Uh, duh. It beats learning about the Big Depression."

_'How stupid can you get…?'_ Zack thought. "Um, actually, it's the _Great_ Depression…" He corrected, "…And I think I'm gonna skip out on that, maybe some other time though."

"Alright, suit yourself." Jayden spun around on his heel and made his way down the opposite side of the hallway.

As Zack watched him walk away, he wondered if he should have spilled all those facts about Cody. Then he wondered what exactly was going to be graffiti'd on the basement walls. He idled in the hallway for a minute, wondering.

But then he realized he didn't care, and headed off to Spanish class. _Then_ he remembered how much he loathed Spanish, and how he would do anything to get out of that class. He still was not willing to follow Jayden, though.

_'To be honest, I really don't want to get in trouble right now...'_ Spanish class probably looked better on a permanent record than suspension would. Considering he'd already been suspended once this term.

The bell rang, and Zack realized he was late for class.

-x-

As noon rolled around, Cody was feeling a bit better. Although his fever went down considerably, he was still feeling slightly dizzy. Not to mention he cleared the room completely of every tissue box available. The cold medication hadn't fully kicked in yet. He finished his bowl of chicken noodle soup just as his mom was preparing to leave for rehearsal.

"Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave, Cody?" Carey placed a hand on his forehead. "You don't feel as warm as you did earlier."

"Yeah, I think I'm doing a bit better. Thanks mom." Cody sniffled and handed her his empty bowl of soup.

"No problem, sweetie. If you need me, you know where to find me."

"Yup." Cody watched her leave the room. He sat up on the couch and turned off the television; TV was not that fascinating when you were supposed to be at school.

It was hard to keep a slight smile on his face when his mom was around, so Cody was honestly kind of glad that she had left. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not get the sounds of sirens blaring out of his head.

Cody was not one to hold on to dreams, nightmares have never bothered him in the past. But there was just something so eerie about this one. It had felt so real, like he was actually there. It made him a bit afraid. He couldn't let that hold him back though.

The grandfather clock in the corner struck twelve thirty, and began to sing its annual reoccurring tune. The ticking made Cody more distressed. Each passing minute represented a minute of important school work and information missed. He wondered if Zack would actually bother bringing him his school work like he had asked. He would have to stay after to get it, but it was not raining today, so maybe he wouldn't mind walking home. It did look cold outside though. The weather man this morning had spoken of cold weather for a long, long time to come.

He stood up and strode over to the kitchen. It felt good to get up and walk around, especially after doing absolutely nothing all morning. "Zack wouldn't do something nice for me though…" Cody thought aloud as he picked up his mug of tea, which has grown cold over time.

"If only Zack hadn't grown cold over time…" Cody mused, as he placed the mug in the dishwasher. Then a slight smile spread across his chapped lips. "Grown cold overtime, ha, wow that's emo…"


	5. You’d Better Keep Your Mouth Shut

**Author's Note:** ... I really have nothing to say. Except thanks for reading! :)

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"Cody Martin?" Called a voice from the hallway.

It was a new day and Cody felt much healthier than he was the day before. He was still a bit dizzy but that was not going to stop him today. Zack never did bring him his makeup work, so he spent his off period in the library. He normally spent his off periods there, but this time he actually had a reason, rather than to just read for fun. He was quite content shifting through his textbook until he looked up to see the principal's secretary standing over his shoulder like a hawk.

"Yes?" he answered back, innocently.

She scowled at him. She had never been quite fond of children. "The principal needs to speak with you." Her expression grew harsher than before as she pushed her glasses up higher on her face. "Immediately." She paced herself away from the library.

"She needs to speak with me..?" Cody answered into the open nervously. He quickly gathered his books together before wandering down the halls to the principal's office.

Cody timidly knocked on the door, somewhat afraid for his life.

"Come in." Came a voice from the other side.

He entered the room, shyly taking a seat in front of her desk.

The principal didn't acknowledge Cody's entrance to the room as she finished scribbling something down on a notepad. She shook her head shamefully. "Cody Martin, never once have I predicted you doing such a thing…" She continued to write.

Cody stared at her, very confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand…"

The principal leveled her eyes to him, and then stood up.

"Follow me."

The basement of the school was where Cody's been the least, next to the gymnasium. It was used for mostly storage, but back in the mid 1900's it was probably also used as a bomb shelter. People went down there sometimes to do drugs, and the janitor came down here a lot for a break. But other than that, the basement was rarely seen by students.

Cody tried to watch his step as he made his way down into the darkness. The winding staircase and absence of lighting made it hard for him to keep his balance. When he reached the bottom, everything suddenly went bright.

The principal turned on the light, and Cody gasped.

The entire basement was, without a doubt, completely trashed. The once well-organized and neatly stacked chairs were all thrown across the room. There was paper everywhere. All sorts of paper, all kinds of supplies, pens, pencils, extra grade books. Everything… broken and shredded on the floor. Old props from the drama club that once added color to the stage lay lifeless on the ground. There was a series of handprints all over the dark walls, as well as splatters of paint. The paint almost looked like blood, and it sent chills down Cody's spine. But the worst part of all was the name 'Cody Martin,' written in large red letters on the concrete.

"I…" Cody stammered, still taking in the scenery.

"I could never imagine someone like you doing such a thing, Mr. Martin…"

"I didn't do this, I swear!" Cody panicked, beginning to pile together a few non-wrinkled papers around him. "I wasn't even in school yesterday, and I would never-"

"I know you didn't do this, I'm not holding it against you."

Cody paused for a moment, taking in her words, and then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"But I can't let something like this go unnoticed." She stated as she scanned the basement. She lowered her voice. "We have a few people in mind, but I would like to ask you personally if you know who it was?"

Cody set down the papers on a surprisingly upright, still standing table. Honestly, he could give her a few names, one of those names being Zack. "Who do you have in mind?"

"I can't tell you that." She stated. "There's no one you would like to mention?"

_'It had to have been Zack…'_ Cody thought. _'But, why on earth would he do this? I know he was mad, but this is kind of extreme…'_ He opened his mouth to spill his brother's name, but then held back. "No, there isn't anyone." Zack was already mad at him, so why make things worse? Plus, why should he rat his brother out if he was not sure it was really him? Cody didn't want to risk Zack getting in trouble for nothing.

"If you say so." She began walking back up the stairway as Cody pressed his palm to one of the handprints on the wall. His hands were a bit smaller, but other than that it was almost a perfect match. "Don't be surprised if I call you back down to my office if anything new comes up."

_'She still thinks I might be lying…'_ Cody thought as he tried to decipher the hand writing on the wall. Sure, she said she knew he wouldn't do it (which he didn't…), but she never believed anybody. He wasn't very fond of stubborn people. They reached the top of the stairwell as the bell rang.

"Well, I better head off to class…" Cody said awkwardly as he slipped away to history.

World history was one of the few classes him and Zack had together. He entered the room, taking his usual seat behind his brother. Zack didn't bother looking up as Cody walked past him. He kept his head down on his desk. Cody he didn't bother saying hello as he resisted the urge to push him over and wake him up.

The second bell rang, meaning that class was supposed to start. Cody was surprised when the teacher had not shown up yet. He was often on time and ahead of schedule. The last few people trickled in silently. They looked to his empty desk and sighed with relief when they realized their teacher hadn't arrived yet and they wouldn't be receiving a detention.

Minutes later he came in, looking a bit unorganized. The class groaned as he set his belongings down on his desk, whipping out a stack of worksheet. He had no greeting for the class like he usually did.

"This worksheet pertains to the chapter you were supposed to read for homework. Complete the first side as today's warm-up." Desk by desk, he passed out the assignment. He hesitated at Zack's desk, and whispered something in his ear. Zack gave Mr. Cosby a puzzled look. He said something quietly back, and Mr. Cosby shrugged, shaking his head. Zack stood up from his desk, picked up his backpack, and left the room.

_'Not good…'_ Cody thought as he watched his brother walk out the door.

"Cody, how are you feeling? Did you get the notes you missed?" Mr. Cosby handed him a worksheet and flashed him a smile.

"No, I didn't…" Cody's vision remained locked on where Zack once was.

"I'll grab them for you in a minute. I don't think you'll have a problem catching up though." He continued to snake down the rows.

Zack would never do something like that. He never, ever would. Or would he? _'He is gonna be so pissed at me…'_ Cody thought as he scribbled his name down on the paper in front of him. He had somewhat of an idea what was going on in this class, so he began to read the first question as Mr. Cosby scurried back.

"Here are the notes…" He pointed to a section of writing on the page. "Copy them down and I think they'll help you out a lot with the assignment."

"Thank you." Cody set the notes aside.

He wondered what Zack would be like when he got home from school today. What he pictured in his head had somewhat the resemblance of a tyrannosaurus rex. He pictured himself as the helpless herbivore, running for his life.

Cody tapped his pen on the desk.

_'He wouldn't be_ that_ angry, would he?'_

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	6. Beat Backbones

**Author's Note:** I'm intending to make the plot really start moving from here on (I hope...) Thanks for reading!

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"Mom, I swear I didn't do it!" Zack restated for the fifth time today.

Zack not being on the bus home made Cody worry, and that feeling only rose when his mom was not home to greet him. He panicked a bit, deciding to drown his worry in a book. He had just gotten seated on the couch when Zack and his mom stepped inside. Cody tried to avoid them as best he could.

"You can say that all you please, Zack, but I can only go by what the principal told me!"

The door slammed shut. Cody lifted his head up from his novel, focused now on reality.

"Why the hell would I graffiti the school's basement?! Seriously now, Mom!" Zack continued to fight a useless battle. There was no way around it; Carey truly believed he was the delinquent.

Carey's jaw dropped at his choice of words. "You will not speak to me like that Zack! I cannot believe you right now!" She scolded her son, placing her purse on the table with anger.

"But I..!" Zack pleaded.

"Not another word." She held up a hand as an attempt to cease Zack's arguing. "Go straight to your room."

"Mom, I-!"

"Enough!" Carey's voice echoed among the walls, and then creating a sudden silence in the war. A silence, then an ear piercing crash. A door slam, and then there were two.

Cody and his mom stared at the broken pile plaster on the floor. The stillness in the air made Cody feel uncomfortable. He didn't like being the awkward one in these kinds of situations, but there was no helping it. He looked up to his mother before shaking the silence.

"Mom?" He said calmly, as Carey slumped into the chair by the kitchen table. Cody stood up, snaking around the maze of shattered glass on the floor. He stepped beside his mother, who gently placed her arms around his waist.

"What am I going to do with him…" Carey sighed as Cody hugged his mother back.

He remained silent, not quite grasping a method to bring the boiling situation down to calm waters. He personally knew for sure that Zack would never vandalize the school, especially with his own brother's name. That would be kind of lame. He also would never rip it to shreds. Zack was too good for that. Of course he could be irresponsible sometimes, but him doing something like that would just be plain twisted.

"Mom, I really don't think Zack would do something like this…" Cody said quietly, disagreeing with what his mom said earlier.

"I don't think he would either." Carey answered.

Cody stared at her, now confused. "But… you just blamed him, and…"

"With the way he's been acting lately, I really can't be too sure."

Cody sighed. "True…"

"The principal seemed positive of her words, and I know that I would not have been able to defend him against her."

"Did anyone else get blamed?"

"Yes, but she refused to tell me-"

The clock in the corner interrupted as it struck four.

"Oh, shoot!" Carey shot up from her chair. "I'm gonna be late for work, I need to prepare dinner, pick up the floor…" She began to hustle about the kitchen.

"Mom, relax. I can handle everything. Don't rush around, I'll cook for Zack, and clean up the floor." He reassured her.

"Cody, don't you have homework to do?"

He did have somewhat of a homework load, but it's not like he minded doing it. He could always do it in the morning. "No," he lied. "You go to work, I'll be fine here." He flashed her the fakest smile he could manage.

"Thank you, sweetie." She kissed his forehead and then made her way to the bathroom to get ready.

Cody watched her until he heard the door click closed, and then took a seat down where she had been. He took a moment to admire the flaws of the living room: the unkempt pillows, the text book scattered on the ground amongst a field of broken glass, the table where the lamp once held strong. He replayed the sequence of events in his head, the faces of his mom and Zack when they entered the suite, bringing tension along in with them. The snapping and sudden screaming. How Zack violently pulled his backpack back over his right shoulder, carelessly knocking the defenseless lamp down to its doom. The broken, scattered shards on the floor.

_'At least I'm not the one in pieces on the floor…'_ Cody thought, somewhat relieved. Zack's wrath was often a frightening thing to come between. "I'm surprised he didn't even look at me once since he came home." He rested his head on his hand.

_'I need to know who really did that to the school…' _Cody thought. Maybe if he could get Zack out of this mess, he would not be angry with him anymore. He pictured all of the criminals in his class. Some of them were too wimpy to do something like that, though. He searched through his head as Jayden's face appeared. He pictured all the teenagers in his little clique. _'They defiantly could have done that, especially since there are a bunch of them. I wonder…'_

A fully transformed Carey appeared into the room once again, heels clicking on the tile floor. The make-up hid the mixture of anger and sorrow; the pink tones adding a tint of glee to her face. Cody watched as she preheated the oven and took a slab of frozen-something out of the freezer.

"Mom, I told you not to worry about dinner." Cody reminded her.

"Yeah, but it's still a bit too early for me to be heading out. Plus, I haven't cooked a decent meal for you two in a while..." She trailed off as she continued to hunt for a recipe.

Cody dug deep into his memory and shuttered at the thoughts of what his mom considered a 'decent meal.'

"Really mom, I got this…" Cody stepped beside her at the counter, taking the recipe book from her grasp and placed it back with the others.

"Then at least let me clean up the floor…" Carey made her way to the living room.

"No." Cody said bluntly as he pushed her in the opposite direction. "I'll handle it, really."

"But I'm still early…."

"Go have fun then!" Cody began to improvise. "Or, um, go practice! Or bother Mr. Moseby! Or...something."

"Fine." Carey gave in, rolling her eyes. "I'll be home around nine." She opened the door, and then lowered her voice. "If Zack gives you a problem, call me."

"I'll be fine, Mom. Have fun."

Carey shot him a grin, kissed his forehead, and left for her concert.

Immediately after she exited the room, Cody noticed his heart beat rise. Now that his mom was gone, he wondered if Zack would try to pull anything. "No." Cody said aloud. "He wouldn't do that."

Come to think of it though, he had not heard anything from Zack since the fight. Cody navigated his way through the hazardous floor and quietly pressed his ear against the door to his room.

Nothing.

No music, no voices, no movement, no anything. Just pure silence.

In a way, Cody wanted to open the door and at least make sure he was okay, but something told him that he could possibly be risking his life. Or at least a pillow to the face.

He took his ear away from the door as the oven beeped, signalizing that it was ready for action. Cody walked on the opposite side of the danger zone and into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

He glanced at the titles of the books in front of him, running his fingertips along the bindings. He stopped at an Italian selection of foods, pulling the large blue book out of its slot. He flipped through it, stopping at something that looked appetizing and quick to make. Cody scurried around the kitchen nonchalantly. Cooking was surely not a chore for him. He placed all the ingredients in order of when he needed them.

He carefully read the first step, noticing that the oven was not properly heated. He reached for the knob as a slight noise caught his attention. The opening of his bedroom door vibrated in his ears as Zack appeared in the doorway, locking eyes with Cody.


	7. Who Chokes in These Situations?

**Author's Note:** I'm uploading this chapter a bit early because I feel like it. I think I was in a bad mood as I wrote this. I get a bit mean. Oh well, I guess it's all just preparation for what's to come! Thanks again for reading, and thanks to everyone who's been following along and reviewing ^^ The reviews mean a lot to me. Now on with the chapter...

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Zack and Cody exchanged mute, expressionless glances until Zack's eyes began to wander to the empty suite. His tense figure loosened slightly when he realized his mom had left early for work. _'Thank God…'_ He thought as he contemplated what to do next. He obviously interrupted whatever Cody was in the middle of, he didn't think entering the room would be such a big deal. He looked away from Cody and to the floor, not showing any other gesture.

Cody kept his mouth shut as he watched Zack pace over to the mess which was still lying on the ground. He lifted a large chunk of the broken lamp from the floor and studied it carefully, running his hand along the jagged edges before snapping it in half. He dropped the two halves to the ground. They dropped downward with a clang, and surprisingly surviving the fall.

Cody opened his mouth to speak, ready to tell his brother that he really should not be breaking glass. Zack's eyes caught Cody's sudden motion. Cody timidly bit his lip and abruptly continued preparing dinner.

Zack made his way to the kitchen as Cody began to brace himself for whatever might happen. But to his surprise, Zack pulled out a large, black trash bag from the drawer. Without a word to Cody, he about faced and walked back to the broken lamp.

Cody set the meal he had been preparing in the oven carefully as to not burn his hands. He looked back at Zack, who had seated himself on the floor, his back to the kitchen. Cody debated for a minute whether or not he thought Zack would want some help with cleaning up the mess. _'He's probably purposely trying to ignore me.'_ He thought. If Zack wanted to have said something, he would have spoken already. He wasn't exactly the type of person to hold back or hesitate when it came to calling people out on things.

'_Well, standing here won't do anything…'_ Cody assumed as he quietly made his way towards Zack.

Zack did not glance up as he joined him, keeping his distance but still somewhat close by him on the floor. Zack kept his gaze on the shattered glass.

Just by looking at Zack's solemn expression, Cody could tell that he was worn down. Although he had been acting nasty lately, he still felt bad whenever Zack got depressed. The worst part was knowing that there was nothing he could do to help him. He had no clue what was going on, or if there was anything going on in general. Maybe he is just going through some sort of phase, and this would all end soon. Or maybe he really _is_ stressing over something. Or maybe he's just extra moody today.

Zack's tired eyes skimmed the floor slowly as he picked up select pieces from the pile. Cody watched as Zack, instead of throwing the pieces away, tried to put them back together. He reached for the base of the lamp, which had managed to stay whole. Next he located what looked like to be pieces of the side, yet the puzzle was complicated. His plan to rebuild what he had demolished was obviously failing, and he began to grow frustrated. He tossed the piece he had in his hand aside, just missing the trash bag.

Cody caught on to the fact that Zack gave up. He piled a few pieces of plaster together that were out of his reach and placed them in the bag.

Zack glanced over to Cody. He cleared his throat, he had not used his voice in a while, and it was still strained from the screaming. "Why are you helping?" He paused. "You didn't smash the lamp."

"Yeah, and you didn't spray paint the walls." Cody did not look up from the ground.

Zack stared at him with disbelief. "But…I thought you told the principal it was _me_ who did it!" He almost sounded angry.

Taken aback, Cody stuttered. "W-why would I do that?"

Zack gripped the piece of glass in his hand. "Well why not." Annoyed, he threw the lamp shard into the bag, then picked up another and did the same. "Might as well. I have detention for the rest of my life anyway." He looked down at his hand. Cody did the same.

"You're bleeding…" He stated.

"Really? I didn't notice. Thanks, Einstein." Sarcasm.

Zack stood up and was gone as quickly as he came, taking off to the bathroom. Cody fumbled to stand up and followed him.

"Do you need help with that?" He asked, appearing in the doorway.

Zack opened the disoriented medicine cabinet above the sink, not bothering to answer.

"The disinfectant is on the top shelf." Cody suggested.

"Why would I use that." Zack grumbled as a statement more than a question.

"So it doesn't get infected." Cody said as he stepped beside him, picking the small tube off the shelf. "You never know what kinds of bacteria could get under your skin, and it's probably best to-"

"Okay, I get it, it's bad, just shut up for a second, will you?"

Cody closed his mouth. "I was just trying to help."

"Well, I never asked for your help." He successfully located the bandages, struggling with the tab on the cardboard box.

"You could at least appreciate it, instead of completely shutting me down." Cody stated, irritated with Zack's attitude. He placed the disinfectant on the countertop.

Zack glowered at it before swiping it up and placing it back in its proper place. He pulled a bandage out of the package, unwrapping it and placing it over his hand. He then looked up and locked eyes with Cody. "I don't want your help." He said menacingly, stressing each word. "I can function on my own."

"How can you function on your own if you can't even take care of yourself?"

Zack slammed the cabinet shut. "Okay, you have no right to say that because I can take care of myself just fine!"

"Oh really? If it wasn't for me, who knows where you'd be right now. Who knows if you'd still be alive, or at least out of prison." Cody retorted.

"Just back off. I'm the older brother here, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to take this from a child like yourself."

Cody took offense to Zack's words. "You know what? I think _you_ should back off. If it wasn't for me, you would be lost. You would be struggling to get by on your own. You would have dropped out of school by now. You're dependent on me for everything. You need me in your life, even if you won't admit it." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Enough with the 'if it wasn't for me' crap, I'm not buying it! I'd be perfectly fine without you! You could drop off the face of the Earth for all I care, and you know what? I bet no one would even notice. And even if they did notice, it's not like anyone would care. Plus people would probably be happy if you did. You're a pain to me, just like you are to everyone else. I could, and I will, get along just fine without you, and that's a guarantee." Zack ended his rant with an angry sigh, as Cody's annoyed expression grew blank.

Typically, sticks and stones would break his bones, and words would never hurt him, yet Zack's words stung hard and left him with bruises. He was completely speechless. '_How am I supposed to respond to that…?'_ He asked himself. If someone else had said that, he could have shaken it off. But these words fell out of _Zack's_ mouth. Why would he say something so rude? He timidly looked to his feet once again, keeping his mouth closed in fear of speaking again.

Zack looked away from Cody, excepting his silence as a victory. Cody's surrender made him feel, as cruel as it sounded, better. He looked to the bandage on his palm, which seeped crimson in color from his minor battle wound. At least it didn't hurt. But he knew that whatever physical pain he could have endured was nothing compared to how he just hurt his brother.

Zack took his eyes off the bandage as something distracted him. He narrowed his eyebrows. "Cody?" He asked his brother, almost casually, as if he didn't just tear him apart.

Cody shifted his gaze ever so slightly to acknowledge Zack. "Yes?"

"…Do you smell that?"

"Well, we are in a bathroom…"

Zack rolled his eyes as he neared the door. "No, stupid, it's coming from the-"

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He sprang backwards in shock.

"Fire!"

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**Author's Note:** Dun dun dun! o: Kbye XD


	8. The Walls Line the Bullet Holes

**Author's Note:** This isn't the climax, incase anyone was wondering. The chapters are going to start getting longer from here, starting with this one. Chapter eight is brought to you by coffee! Enjoy, and thanks to everyone who's been following along and reviewing! It means a lot ^^.

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"Oh my God." Cody stepped beside Zack with disbelief. "This isn't happening."

"Well, wake up! It is happening, and this is what happens when you're careless and use the oven at the same time!" Zack yelled above the noise.

It was not a large fire, but it was not small either. The flames began to slowly melt away at the metal frame of the cheap oven. Smoke arose from the fire, making its way throughout the kitchen. Cody grew mesmerized watching the dancing orange flames as Zack tugged at Cody's shirt.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" He shouted. "We need to get out of here!"

"I've ruined everything…" Cody said under his breath, but loud enough for Zack to make out. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm not staying here and getting burnt to a crisp, but you can if you really want to." Zack dashed across the room, and was gone.

Cody heard the door close and snapped out of his trance. His eyes widened ass reality was beaten back into him. He let out a shrill scream and dashed towards the door just as Zack had done. He covered his face with his sleeve in attempt to not inhale the smoke that continued to creep its way throughout the room. He reached for the door handle, surprised when it was opened for him.

Two tall men in yellow nearly trampled over Cody. They were just as surprised to see him as Cody was to see them. Cody watched in a blur as one man said something to the other. One went to open the window, and another man was pulled inside from a ladder. And suddenly, he was being dragged from the room, away from the suite.

The man led him to the elevator. _'Aren't you not supposed to use an elevator when there's a fire…?' _Cody thought.

"Are you okay son?" He asked, acting like he cared. He has probably done this a thousand times, sympathy and worry must be just a part of his job.

Cody nodded in response, still attempting to take in what happened in the past five minutes. He could not piece together reasons as to why his life had been turned upside down.

"What happened?"

Cody struggled to find his voice. "I…I was making dinner, and…" He trailed off. "And…I don't know." He shook his head slowly, almost embarrassed by what he had done. This wasn't like him, was it?

"I'll take you down to the lobby." The man put his hand back on Cody's shoulder and pressed the down button. Cody wished that he would stop touching him, the weight exerting from his hand was heavy. It weighed Cody's fragile shoulder down.

"I can make it on my own." Cody said, trying his best to sound convincing. "I'll be fine. Go back and help." Fake confidence.

"Son, I can't just leave…"

_'Since when am I your son?'_ "I'll be fine." _'Just leave me alone.'_

The elevator arrived and Cody stepped inside. The doors slid closed, waiting patiently for Cody to choose a floor. The lobby was the last place he wanted to be right now. He did not want to face his mom. He did not want to face Mr. Moseby. He just wanted to know if Zack was okay. He wanted the elevator to take him to another dimension where maybe everything made sense. He wanted it to take him back in time, where maybe he could have fixed everything. He just wanted something different, anything but this.

He could think and want as much as he pleased, but greed would not take him anywhere. Cody pushed the lobby button. The portable room shifted downward suddenly, as if it were awaking. It stopped abruptly on level six.

A worried mom and her daughter stepped into the elevator. The mother did not bother changing the elevator's destination, and relaxed as the doors closed. "I heard there was a fire, did you hear that too?" She asked Cody, her eyes wide. The woman was one of those busy-body business women who wore permanent lipstick, lived through gossip and never seemed to get any sleep. And it showed through her cover-up.

Cody sighed. "Yeah, I did hear that, I don't know anything else though, sorry." Why bother saying he was the one who caused it? He was not asking for anyone's consideration for him.

The woman cleared her throat and looked away, wishing on the inside that he knew more about what happened.

The double doors reopened, and Cody held out a hand, letting the woman and child walk ahead of him. He salvaged his last five seconds of solitude before walking ahead to face his mother. Cody took a deep breath and stepped out.

"Cody!" He turned to his right, acknowledging the first person to realize his entrance. Maddie. She left her place at the candy counter, jumping the small set of stairs to give him a hug.

"Hi, Maddie." Cody said quietly, hugging her back.

She spoke softly, as not to arise any more attention than she already had. "Are you okay? I heard there was a fire in your room, your mom and Moseby are looking for you." Maddie looked around herself. "Where's Zack? Is everything alright?" Her voice grew more frantic as she spoke in one long breath of oxygen.

Cody's head spun as he took in her questions, trying to process answers. "I'm fine, the fire department came, and…" He grew more confused. "Zack's not here?" Damnit.

Maddie shook her head. "He isn't still up there, is he!?"

"No, he defiantly left the suite…" _'Awesome. Now he's missing.'_ Cody thought, annoyed. There was a break in their conversation, and he took it as his cue to speak. "Wait… how did the fire department know which suite was on fire, or even, how did they even know to come at all?"

Maddie thought for a minute. "Um, Moseby explained it once…it was something along the lines of if a fire alarm goes off somewhere, someone's office gets notified. And then the call the fire department across the street, I think…"

"Oh. I see." Cody glanced to the lobby in search of another familiar face. "I guess that makes sense. Do you know where my mom is?"

"I'm pretty positive Carey and Moseby went up to the room." She scanned the lobby as well, but no luck. "You might want to go up there, yanno, so your mom doesn't get more paranoid than she already is."

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks Maddie." Cody turned back to the elevator.

"Don't mention it." She smiled. "I hope everything turns out okay."

"Can you tell me if you see any sign of Zack?" He asked her.

She nodded. "Of course. I'll call your cell phone if I see him"

"Thanks." Cody stepped in the elevator, checking his pocket and reassuring himself he still had his phone on him.

He reached floor number twenty three, and began to wander the halls to his suite. As he got closer, he began to make out voices. Down the hallway, he could see three matching men, Moseby, his mom, and someone else who he did not recognize. He told his legs to move, and made his way down the hall.

Carey's eyes captured her son's presence and she immediately stopped speaking midsentence to one of the firemen. "Cody!" She called out happily, as she began to run towards him. "Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" She picked him up and spun him around in her high heels, suddenly feeling a bit more cheerful. She placed him back on his feet.

"Mom…" Cody said nervously. "I can explain, I-!"

"You can explain later when this mess is over. Where's Zack?" Her face grew worried.

Cody shook his head. "I…don't exactly know."

"Don't know!?" Carey gasped. "How do you just not know…? He's not still inside, is he!?" Her panic rose once again.

"No." He shook his head a second time. "He got mad at me, we got in a fight, and I didn't pay attention to the oven. I must have set it too high… then Zack left after he saw the fire."

"You two got in a fight? And then he just left?" Carey restated Cody's words. He nodded as a sign that she was correct. "I can't believe he would do such a thing!"

Cody didn't want to believe it either. He didn't know what to believe anymore.

"What did you two fight about?"

He shrugged. "I… don't know." Carey took this as an 'I'd rather not talk about it.'

Mr. Moseby walked over as the four men left in the opposite direction. "Cody, what on Earth happened here?" He spoke, sounding concerned and aggravated with him at the same time. But he always sounded a bit aggravated, so this struck as no revelation to Cody.

"I was careless, sorry Mr. Moseby."

Marion looked to Carey, who gestured for him to just drop the subject.

"Where is Zack?" He asked, showing a bit more concern now.

_'Stop asking me that.'_ Cody thought, feeling more anxious each time the question was brought up. "I really don't know." Cody answered him just as honestly as he did to Maddie and his mom.

"I think we can take it from here, Mr. Moseby. Thank you for all the help."

"Not a problem, Carey." He motioned to the paperwork in his hands. "If I could just talk with you for a moment about the cost of a new oven…"

"Cody why don't you head back to the room and I'll be there in a minute?" Carey motioned for him to step aside.

He really did not want to be reminded of what the suite looked like, but it wasn't like he could avoid it. He said nothing and proceeded down the hallway.

He hesitated as he pushed the door ajar, not wanting to open it all the way. _'This is stupid.'_ Cody thought as he realized that there was no way he could avoid his own home. He knocked the door open. The oven in the kitchen had been somehow removed, which almost made him feel slightly better. He would not have to look at the damage.

The room as a whole looked even more untidy than it had earlier, but he tried not to realize it, or his OCD would act up. He was not in the mood to clean, which was odd. He was not exactly in the mood to do anything. He flopped down on the couch and put a pillow over his head, letting out a groan. He could hear his mom speaking to Moseby as she neared closer to the suite.

His thoughts cut off when the phone began to ring. Cody pulled the pillow from his head and glanced at the caller ID.

"Mom?" he called out into the open, as the phone rang again. There was no way he was taking this call.

Carey appeared in the room. "Who is it?"

"Zack."


	9. Preach With Conviction

**Author's Note:** Oh hey . Sorry I kinda, uh, died? I was super busy this week even though i had vacation, and i couldn't update last week cause i have minour surgury done~! But here's chapter nine anyway. Thanks for reading!

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Carey looked to Cody. "His cell phone?" It rang again.

"Yeah." He took the phone off the hook and handed it to her.

"Hello? Zack?" She spoke into the receiver desperately.

"Yeah. Hi mom." He answered back with apathy.

"Zack, where are you?!"

"I'm fine mom."

"Well then, where are you?"

"I'm at a friend's house. I'm staying overnight."

"You… you're at a friend's house? Zack, we were just in the middle of a crisis, and-!"

"I know."

"Whose house are you at!? And how did you get there?" She paused as she searched for another question to hurl at him. "And I want you home right now!"

"Mom, relax. I'm not coming home now. I took the bus. I'm at Jayden's."

Carey raised an eyebrow. "Who is Jayden?"

Cody held his breath. _'Is he kidding?'_ he thought nervously. _'He wouldn't…'_

"Zack, I understand you're mad with me, but I would appreciate it if you came back here. I can pick you up..."

"Mom. I'm staying here. Goodbye." He was not changing his mind.

The phone clicked off.

Carey held the phone against her ear as if he were still on the line, taking in what Zack had said. "You know what." She pressed the off button and set the phone back on the hook. "He can do whatever he pleases. I'm not going to argue with him." She rubbed her temples with her palm.

Cody stared at the phone, replaying his mother's words in his head. _'He's at Jayden's… Why the hell would he be at Jayden's? He knows that…' _Cody sighed. _'Of course. He knows me and him aren't friends. No wonder he's over his house.'_ Cody flopped back down on the couch.

Carey did the same, putting her arm around Cody. "At least he's okay…" She thought aloud. "Cody?" He looked up at her. "Who is Jayden? How come I've never heard you talk about him?"

Cody searched for a way to answer her question. He could have responded with, 'Oh, you know. Your average high school criminal. He basically owns the detention room.' Or, he could lie, just to make his mom feel a bit better. He could say that Jayden is the nicest guy he had ever met. Or, he could say…

"I don't really know." He lied. He was never really good at lying.

"You looked like you recognized the name when I said it out loud." Carey responded.

"Well, I know who he is, not personally though." Which is technically true. If he had spoken the full truth, she would have been out the door to get Zack in a heartbeat. Cody wasn't really sure if he wanted Zack here anymore. Especially after hearing who he was with.

"Oh." Carey responded. She glanced to the clock. It was not that late, yet Cody looked exhausted. Her eyes then wandered to the mess still on the floor, the textbooks, the dust from behind the oven. She stood up.

Cody watched her step over to the closet in search of the vacuum. He felt bad. He promised he would pick up the various messes around the house, yet all he did was create a bigger one. He would offer to help, but the last time he offered he ended up setting the kitchen ablaze.

Carey plugged in the vacuum, which purred to life and began to eat away at the dusty kitchen. The noise droned out Cody's thoughts. For this he was thankful. He repositioned himself similar to how he was before the phone call, throwing a pillow over his face with a groan. He didn't want to be in here anymore. He didn't want to look at the tattered suite. The sound of the vacuum got louder and began to close in on him. The bussing sound began to annoy him. Blocking his ears didn't help. He stood up and paced in the opposite direction.

'_Maybe a shower will make me feel better…'_ He thought as he stepped into the bathroom. He immediately felt compressed as he stepped into the room, as if Zack's words still hung in the air. _'Not helping.'_ He thought, feeling a bit nauseous. He heard the vacuum click off.

Cody stepped away from the bathroom. His mom was fixing up the floor. "Mom?" he asked.

"Hm?" She looked up.

"I…I'm going for a walk." He needed to get out.

Understanding, Carey nodded. "Just don't run off like your brother did, okay?"

"I won't leave the building." He answered, leaving the suite behind him.

He wandered with solitude along the twenty third floor. Everything around him was still. Nothing moved. He listened to the sounds of his shoeless feet tap the floor gently as he made his way to the end of the hall. He pressed his forehead against the large window, the only thing keeping him from the outside streets of Boston. He studied the people below, huddled into their scarves and hats, walking slowly. And suddenly, disappearing among clouds. Cody took his head off the glass, which grew fogged from his breath. He pulled his sleeve over his wrist, wiping away the glass as if he was never there.

Ding.

He jumped at the sound of the elevator arriving. Inside was a man with a box. The man looked familiar to Cody. He rolled away with the large box as Cody tilted his head to the picture printed on the side. _'An oven…'_ he thought.

The doors began to close. Cody rapidly pressed the elevator button, and the doors obeyed, quickly shifting back open. Once they closed again, Cody thought for a minute. It was the middle of the week, so the Tipton shouldn't be that busy. He clicked a higher floor. The elevator carried him higher and stopped. Cody stepped off, surprised at the sight of another person. Muriel… working? _'I am defiantly going insane.'_ He pressed his hand to his forehead which was still cold from the window.

She looked to him as she stepped out of the suite she was cleaning, not bothering to close the door. She threw down a few items on the cart in front of her.

"Is… that anyone's suite?" Cody asked her casually.

She looked up to him. "No, the little devil's family just left. Stupid kids got crayon all over the walls. Good thing I cleaned up though. Someone important is coming here tomorrow for that suite." She pointed to the room behind her, which still lay open.

"Tomorrow?" Cody asked, trying to sound interested as he stealthily backed towards the suite.

"Yep." She answered, pushing her cart to the elevator. "Some hunky man. Good thing I'm getting a facial tomorrow!" She laughed, then left.

When the elevator doors slid closed, he hustled into the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

It was pitch black as he fumbled for the light switch, which was apparently in a different place than he was used to. He found it and switched it on as daylight struck the luxury suite. "I wish we could live somewhere like this…" He said to himself, tracing his hand along the walls. It was so much nicer than his own. Although he and Zack snuck into these suites many times before, he treated the room as if it were fragile, afraid to break something else. He turned the knob of the bathroom door, grateful that it was different from his own. Cody closed the door behind him, stripped off his clothes and hopped into the shower.

The freezing water numbed his body, as well as his mind. He sighed, clearing his thoughts of everything that had occurred today. He tried to convince himself that it didn't happen as he reached for the shampoo, taking about half of it in his hand and lathering it in his hair. He pulled his hair down over his forehead. "I really need a haircut…" He said aloud as he realized his hair had reached his eyes. He rinsed himself off, his body shaking as he scrubbed his hair.

After a solid two minutes, he turned the shower back off. He shivered as he pulled a perfectly folded towel off the rack and wrapped himself within it. He stepped out of the shower with a sigh; the air was warm against his bare skin. He towel dried his body before throwing his clothes back on.

He squinted at his face in the mirror. He looked more awake. "Mom will get suspicious if I come back and my hair's wet…" He reached for the hair dryer.

Cody stared into the device skeptically as he plugged it in. Never once had he used a hair dryer. He pondered at the switches as he chose one, causing the hairdryer to spring to life. He jumped back in surprise. With a slight laugh, he held the device to his head and watched his wet hair turn fluffy. This process took him a while, but Cody was perfectly content as the hot air de-numbified his body.

Realizing how much time he was wasting, he unplugged the hair dryer, placing it back in its proper place. Cody took a moment to neaten the room, placing his used towel in the hamper. He stood back, feeling accomplished that he could at least neaten this room. "I was never here…" Cody whispered under his breath as he backed out of the bathroom.

The clock on the nightstand read in large letters eight fifty two. "I should probably head back…" Cody spoke to himself, giving the room another quick glance before leaving the room behind him.

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**Author's Note:** Chapter ten is more exciting. I just need to type it _.


	10. Those Watermelon Smiles…

**Author's Note:** Chapter ten... finally. Haha. I don't really have much to say. Thanks for everyone who's still managing to follow along~!

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"Hey Cody." Carey called from over her shoulder as she continued to scrub down the sink.

Cody stepped into the room with a sigh of relief. Everything was back in its proper place. There was no mess on the floor, the oven was back in its slot, the cushions on the couch were neatened, and the textbooks were gone. He flashed his mom a small grin.

"Where've you been?" She asked him, throwing the sponge in the sink.

Cody shrugged his shoulders. "Just around, I guess." He took a seat down at the table as the microwave beeped.

Carey stepped over to it, pulling out something in a glass dish. The smell of last night's pizza made Cody's stomach grumble. Carey placed the dish in front of Cody. "Thank you." He said quietly as he poked at the steaming meal.

"You're welcome." Carey answered back.

"Oh, and mom?" Cody asked as he picked up the pizza. "I'm sorry for sorta ruining the evening."

Carey smiled to her son. "You don't have to apologize, you were just trying to help."

Cody looked away, somewhat relieved that he was not getting some sort of punishment. He almost wished that he did, though. He wondered how the situation would have changed if it was Zack who caused the fire. As he bit into his pizza, he realized that he honestly didn't want to know what would have happened. _'Starting a fire on top of the whole graffiti thing?'_ Cody thought. _'He'd be grounded for life. And I probably would have been thrown in the flames.'_

It has been such a long day.

The windows on the bus were coated with a thin layer of frost. Cody rubbed it away and peered through the glass. The winter wonderland outside was not showing signs of stopping. Small, puffy flakes flew down from the sky in the millions, leaving the Earth looking brand new; pure. Pure was one of the last adjectives he would use to describe his lifestyle at the moment.

It was weird riding the bus without Zack. The bus was pretty crowded to begin with, so nobody seemed to notice his absence. _'I wonder if he will even come to school…'_ Cody thought. _'After all, he _is_ with Jayden…'_

The bus jerked to a halt and skidded across the icy road before opening its doors in front of the school. Cody sank deeper into his jacket as he stepped off the bus, a chill seeping into his skin. At least the school was heated. He shifted through the people in the hallways to his locker, still with no sign of his brother. He gathered his belongings for first period before scurrying off to homeroom.

The bell rang soon after he had taken his seat, the desk in front of him still vacant. The teacher began to take attendance as students began to wander in.

"Cody?" She asked aloud

He jumped in his seat, completely zoned out "Y-yes?"

"Is Zack out today?"

"I guess so."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously before marking him as absent.

Ten more minutes of homeroom. Cody decided to pass the time by wasting it away. He sat at his desk repeatedly tapping his fingernails on the wooden surface, trying to focus on how his day would run. _'I really don't want to go to algebra…'_ He thought as he realized he wasn't looking forward to anything today.

The classroom door opened, and Cody snapped out of thought.

"Good morning." Zack greeted the teacher in an unusually cheery mood. He handed her his late pass with a grin on his face.

She scowled at him, swiping the pass from his grasp. "You're late."

"Yeah. Sorry about that." He scratched the back of his head.

"Detention." She stated bluntly.

"Don't bother. I already have detention." Zack waved her off as he wandered to his empty desk.

"What a surprise." She said with sarcasm.

Cody watched Zack throw his bag to the ground and take a seat without one word or glance to him. _'Why is he so chipper?' _Cody thought. _'He has no reason to be happy._ Annoyed, he tapped Zack's shoulder.

Zack's expression faded as he turned around. "What do you want?" He asked, the emotions on his face draining.

Cody was expecting to be snapped at. "Where have you been all night?" He whispered so the other classmates would not overhear.

Zack considered Cody's question. "That's none of your business."

"It's my business when you leave me alone in a burning room!" Cody stated. "Do you know how worried mom was?"

"I called, didn't I?"

"Calling isn't enough." Cody sighed angrily. "You could have come back home."

"Well I didn't, and I-"

The bell rang and interrupted Zack's sentence. He stood up.

"Wait, Zack…" Cody called after him as he stood up from his seat.

"Just let it go." Zack called back as he left the room.

Cody stopped short in his tracks as other people pushed by him, making their way to first period.

He was the last one in the room. Even his homeroom teacher had fled. "Why won't you just talk to me?" Cody asked aloud, as if Zack were there to answer him. He just wanted an honest response. He just wanted to be able to speak with him again. Right now he didn't even care about an apology.

The second bell rang.

"Crap!" Cody gasped. Since when is he ever late for class?

-x-

The science club meeting after school was much shorter than Cody would have fancied. The department head was absent today, so there wasn't too much they could do without him.

He still had another twenty minutes before his mom would arrive, and he didn't have anything to keep himself occupied. He idled by his lonesome in the front lobby. The last few people in the school scurried away one by one. Cody looked around himself for something to do as he heard voices from the opposite direction. He turned his head and saw two janitors laughing and talking casually.

"They probably just came up from the…" Cody thought for a moment. "…from the basement."

Cody waited until they were out of sight. He picked up his bag and walked in the direction from which they came. He glanced around himself as he neared the door, stealthily stepping inside. He quietly closed the door behind him, incasing himself in pitch black darkness.

_'Who the heck designs a light switch at the bottom of the stairs…?' _he thought as he felt his way down. As he descended, a stench arose in the air. _'Ugh,'_ Cody thought. _'Why the heck does it smell like-'_ He flipped on the switch with a shriek.

Jayden jumped a bit as well at the sight of Cody's presence. He blinked his eyes, adjusting to the sudden source of light. He took another quick drag from his cigarette before putting it out abruptly against the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here, kid!?" He asked Cody, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I-I could ask you the same thing!" He retorted back.

Jayden tossed the cigarette aside, not bothering to stand up. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm cleaning."

Cody scanned the room. Nothing had changed since yesterday. "Well, you're doing a pretty lousy job." He stated. "Why are you really down here?" Suspicion.

Jayden rolled his eyes. "To have a smoke or four and pretend to clean the basement. Does that answer satisfy you enough?"

_'No.'_ Cody thought. He glances to the concrete wall where his name still dominated.

"Now it's my turn to ask. What are _you _doing down here?" Jayden stood up and stretched his long arms.

"Killing time." Cody answered honestly.

Jayden raised an eyebrow.

"…And I wanted to see if anyone had picked up down here, which I thought they might have, if there wasn't such a lazy clean-up crew."

"You talkin' about me?" He said, motioning to himself.

"Possibly." Cody said as he began to turn chairs upright.

"Yanno, if you do pick up the room, I'll be taking credit for it."

"Why was Zack at your house yesterday night?" Cody asked sternly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Why not?" Jayden put his hands in his pockets and began to saunter over to Cody. "We had a little slumber party."

"Haha, very funny. Seriously now, why was he there?"

"I don't know. He called me, showed up, and stayed the night. That's all."

"I know that's not all of it."

"Maybe he just wanted to get away from you." He was ignoring the fact that he was not giving a straight answer. "You can only have so much of one person, eh?"

"Maybe. But I know there's something I'm not being told." Cody stacked the chairs together and brought them up against the wall.

"There's always something you're not being told." Jayden crossed his arms and stepped in front of Cody, making it so that he could not escape.

Cody felt his confidence slipping. "What do you mean?" He asked, his voice beginning to falter.

"You tell me." Jayden said.

"You were the one who did this to the basement." Cody stated. "This I _am_ sure of." He wasn't sure of it, but maybe if he acted like he was, Jayden would confess.

Jayden shot out a hand against the wall next to Cody's head. He lined his hand up against the print on the wall. It didn't match up. "Really now? Are you going to rethink that?" He asked smoothly.

"That… that doesn't mean anything. I know you did it, and I know you framed Zack." He was beginning to doubt this was true.

"Yanno, I always hated smart kids…" Jayden began to toy with the ends of Cody's hair.

_'Don't touch me, don't touch me…'_ Cody thought. "So I was right? It was really you?"

Jayden ran a cold hand though Cody's hair, and leaned his head close to his. "If that's what you're willing to believe."

Cody grew uncomfortable with the situation he somehow put himself in. "Y-Yes…" He stammered timidly.

"Then I guess it _is_ true…" Jayden drew his hand gently down Cody's neck, sending a chill down his spine. "But then again, why would you ever listen to a person like me?" He held Cody's head between his fingertips. "Don't tell anyone…"

"Quit it!" Cody yelled, pushing Jayden away from him. Jayden stumbled backwards, his twisted smile still dancing across his lips.

Cody did not look behind himself as he darted back up the staircase.


	11. …Just Can’t Ripen Underwater

**Author's Note:** Chapter eleven... yay? Thank you guys so much for reviewing and following along 3

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_'What the hell just happened.'_ Cody thought as he emerged from the basement. He slammed the door behind him and dashed across the hallways, thankful that no one was in sight. He paces with a purpose to the lobby and shoved through the front doors, aggravated when his mother's car was still missing in action.

His unsteady breathing did not even out when he reached the outdoors. He did not stop shaking, whether it was from the cold in the air of from fear. He didn't know.

He wandered further into the heavens, unable to decipher between the sidewalk and the road. The weather was no longer a tranquil winter wonderland. Now it was a storm. A brutal storm that would surely cancel school tomorrow. Cody stood still as a statue as the winds flew around him in what seemed like every direction. The swirling flurries struck at his balance, making him sway with the wind. A roaring noise from his right made him realize that something was wrong. The snow plow honked its horn loudly as Cody realized he was standing too close to the street for comfort. He jumped back, nearly tripping over the sidewalk. The snow plow went by as Carey pulled in behind it. Thankfully, he quickly got in the car.

She apparently had not noticed he was standing in the middle of the street. "Hey Cody, why on Earth were you waiting outside?" She pulled away from the curb and proceeded back down the street.

Cody snapped out of his daze, taking a moment to process her question. "I thought I saw you before, and I guess I just didn't head back in." _'What kind of a lie was that?'_ he thought.

Carey raised an eyebrow. "I see." She took a left further down the road, closer to home now. "How was school?"

"School was fine." Cody said. Yes, school was fine, but after school, not so much. "Did Zack come home?"

"Yes." She answered him, her tone bringing the mood down a bit. Cody looked over to her as she shook her head.

"He's grounded, so don't expect him to be going anywhere anytime soon."

Cody did not respond. He turned his head back forward as the garage came into view hazily. _'I'm not really sure if I want him around right now…'_ Cody thought to himself as he realized that Zack hadn't exactly been in the house much lately. "How long is he grounded for?"

"I didn't give him an exact time span." She turned into a parking space. "However long it takes for him to start behaving."

_'Who knows how long that could take.'_ Cody thought as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

They stepped through the wintry mix falling from the sky once again to get through to the Tipton. Cody pushed his way around the revolving doors, bringing a trail of snow along inside with him.

"Ah, Ms. Martin, a word please?" Mr. Moseby motioned for Carey to follow him. She shot Cody a confused look as she was brought in the opposite direction. Cody continued through the lobby. He pondered on whether or not he wanted a candy bar or not. Deciding against it, he slipped away from the counter before Maddie noticed he was there.

He headed up to his room, not really sure what to expect. He wasn't positive on what type of person Zack would be when he would see him, and it was weird not knowing what kind of attitude his own brother would be producing. _'Who knows though,'_ Cody thought as he shifted his weight back and forth, from one foot to the other, anxiously. _'He seemed pretty happy this morning.' _Which was odd, considering his overall sour mood lately. Cody shuffled down the hallways, rummaging through his backpack for the room key. He located it successfully just as he reached the right room. Once inside, he noticed Zack was not in sight.

He closed the door behind him, making a note of Zack's backpack on the floor, meaning that he was defiantly home. Or maybe he was here and then he left again. Which would be bad, considering the fact that he was grounded.

Or maybe he was just in his room. Cody placed his bag down on the floor as Zack had did. Carey entered the suite with a smile across her face.

"Guess what?" She asked cheerfully.

Cody stared at her blankly. "I have no idea. What?"

She placed her purse on the table. "I just got offered a big show!"

Cody managed a smile. "That's great mom, where is it?"

Carey's grin faded a bit. "…Here." She paused. "But it's a bigger one than usual!" She said, trying to regain her honor.

"Congratulations." Cody said to her.

"And that means…" She neared the bathroom. "…I need to get ready and go rehearse."

"Sounds good." Cody responded as his mom disappeared behind the wall.

Cody lingered in the kitchen, debating on what to do now. Judging by the looks of it, school would be cancelled tomorrow, so maybe homework didn't have to be his first option. He took a glance outside as the wind shook the windows. _'Maybe I'll go see what Zack's up to…'_ he thought bravely as he shrugged out of his coat and brought it over to the closet.

He walked over to his closed bedroom door and contemplated on whether or not he should knock. _'That would be stupid.'_ He thought. _'It's not like this is just his room'_

Cody pushed the door open. Zack looked up from his cell phone, then shot his glance back down when he realized it was only Cody.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Cody spoke aloud as he flipped on the lights. He looked over to Zack, who seemed very intense doing whatever it was he was doing. "Don't concentrate too hard." He said sarcastically as he flopped down onto his bed.

"Hello to you too." Zack answered back with a hint of annoyance. He closed his phone with a click and stretched his arms.

_'Um. What?' _Cody thought. _'Why is he making it sound like I just did something wrong? AT least I'm making some effort to talk.'_

Zack's phone beeped on the nightstand and he reached over to grab it. Cody watched Zack smirk at the text message he had just received. Cody felt his mood lower gradually as he realized that that message was probably about him. He replied to the message, his smirk not leaving his face.

_'Wow, I wonder who that could be.'_ Cody thought as he rolled his eyes. A knock on the door brought both of the boy's glances up. Zack closed his phone quickly as their mom appeared in the doorway.

"I'm heading out," She stated to the both of them. Zack and Cody nodded simultaneously. "I'll be back later." She blew kisses in their direction. "Zack, no leaving the suite. He didn't answer. "I love you."

"Love you too." Cody answered as Zack remained mute. She left the room. Her heals clanked across the room on the other side of the door, and soon disappeared completely.

When he was sure she was gone, Zack stood up. "I'm out." He announced.

"Uh, no you aren't." Cody replied, standing up to follow him. "You're grounded, remember?"

"No, that doesn't ring a bell." He answered as he headed out of the suite.

"Do you have a severe condition of short term memory loss or something?" Cody said as he subconsciously followed Zack out of the suite. "Mom just told you not to leave."

"Yeah, because I pay attention." He said as he pushed the button on the elevator.

Cody did a double take as he realized he left the suite and was now entering the elevator. "Maybe you should start paying attention." He crossed his arms across his chest as he watched Zack choose a floor. "Do you have any idea how worried you're making mom?" He paused when he realized Zack wasn't going to answer. "Do you have any idea how much you're worrying _me_?"

Zack turned his head ever so slightly to meet Cody's eyes, and then looked to the floor as if he were taking his words into consideration. "Why would I be worrying you?"

Cody shook his head as the double doors reopened. "Just forget it." He didn't have a straight answer as to why he was concerned. He shouldn't exactly have a need to be. It wasn't as if Zack had been the greatest brother over the past week. If he hadn't have been such a snob to him in general, he wouldn't have a reason to be worried. Yet considering Zack's attitude problem, Cody felt more annoyed than anything else.

Cody tore away from his thoughts as he heard Zack's phone beep once again. He replied to the text message hastily as they neared the end of the hallway. "Who do you keep talking to?"

Zack closed his phone. "The same person you were talking to earlier."

Cody stopped in his tracks as Zack shuffled through his pockets. "How do you know that I talked to him?"

Zack pulled out two room keys, selecting one of them and putting the neglected one back in his pocket. "Why wouldn't I know that?" He said back, as if it were something obvious that Cody should have figured out. Zack put the room key through the slot and opened the door.

"I don't know." Cody answered, slightly raising his voice. "Zack, I feel like I don't know anything right now. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean, 'what the hell is going on?' Nothing's going on." He answered, unusually calm.

"Are you joking right now?" Cody said, annoyed. He took a seat down on the bed. He didn't bother asking how or why the heck he hacked into this room. "You've been sure a jerk lately. And not only to me. You've been a jerk to everyone. You won't talk to me, you're making friends with all the wrong people…" He could have listed more reasons to be upset, but he stopped himself as he watched Zack open the window, letting the winter shill burst through the room. He searched through his pocket once again, but this time he pulled out a lighter. He took a seat on the ledge by the window. "…And now you're smoking." Cody would have been more surprised, but honestly, he saw something like this coming.

"It's not up to you to decide who I'm friends with." Zack said as he drew the catalyst of death away from his mouth.

"It is if I know it's going to hurt you." Cody's voice continued to rise as Zack's gaze remained elsewhere. "I don't even know who you are right now."

Zack's phone beeped again in his pocket, but he didn't answer it like Cody expected him to.

The sound of footsteps outside the room sharpened Cody's senses as there was a tap at the door. He turned his head as someone else entered the room.


	12. Apathy & Urgency

**Author's Note:** Hey there. Sorry I take a while to upload. There's a lot of refrences to earlier chapters here. I really like this chapter a lot, and I hope you guys do too! Thanks for reading & following along, it means a lot.

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"As if this day couldn't get any worse."

Jayden stepped casually in the room. He closed the door behind himself and stopped shot when he noticed that the room was accompanied by one too many humans. A confused 'what-the-hell-is-he-doing-here' face spread over his features. He looked to Zack, who did not seem to care for Jayden's entrance. He kept his head turned out the window.

Cody gripped the comforter on the bed between his fists, not really sure what he could possibly be bracing for. He watched Jayden silently kick off his boots, throwing them out of his path and leaving a trail of snow as they were tossed. He shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it on the back of the door to dry. As he turned his head back to Cody, it was as if the room had gotten just a bit colder. He drew in closer. Cody's glare held strong.

"What's that look for?" Jayden asked him apathetically.

Cody kept his eyes on the enemy, shaking his head. "Why are you here?" He asked, unsatisfied. He wanted to make Jayden feel as unwelcome as possible. "Go home."

"Why don't _you_ go home?" Jayden tossed the question back at Cody, nodding his head in the direction of the exit.

Cody gripped his hands tighter. "Because this _is_ my home. _You_ don't belong here."

Jayden stepped in closer. "I don't belong anywhere." He flipped his dark hair from his eyes, keeping his head at an angle. "But that's never stopped me now, has it?" He answered as a matter of fact.

The winter intoxicated the room and Cody began to feel a bit infected. "I don't want to deal with this right now." He stood up. "Actually, I don't want to deal with this ever."

Jayden grabbed him by the shoulder. "Deal with what?"

Cody tried to nudge his hand away. "All of this. I don't want to get involved."

"You're already involved."

"Look, I don't know why you've suddenly started manipulating Zack, but I've had enough of it." His statement had no relevance to Jayden's words, but it had to get out sometime.

"Are you jealous?"

Cody shook Jayden off of his shoulder. His words seemed to be irrelevant to the topic as well. Whatever the topic was. "Jealous of what?" He snapped back.

"Are you jealous of your brother?" He asked innocently.

"…Of Zack?" Cody reverberated. "No, why should I be?" He took a step back in harmony with Jayden's step forward.

"Can you keep a secret?"

Memory. It fogged its way back into Cody's head.

He backed into the wall, and something about this scene was recognizable. Not the motions, not the steps. The words. Jayden cornered him once again as if they were still in the basement of the school. Despite the entrapment, Cody was not positive that he only had Jayden to fear now.

Jayden repeated his last question, looking Cody straight in the eyes. He was tall, inches taller than Cody. He looked down upon him, waiting for an answer.

"You better not tell…" He leaned his head in closer.

Cody's heart began to beat faster, faster. He drew in a staggered breath, tasting the cancer in the air. This was not déjà vu, for he had never been here before. Yet, he could not shake the familiar feeling from his bones. He couldn't find his way back to the source of his memory. Cody's breathing synchronized with the world around him. The world that was anything but silent. The chaotic winds danced their way throughout the rooms once again; their repetitive routines shook the windows. They shook Cody's feelings.

They shook the frozen pipelines. And that's when he heard it. The ominous sounds of dripping water, he could hear it all in his skull. Jayden pressed his forehead to Cody's as he became consumed by the tidal waves. Something so familiar and he was so close to it. There was a mystery. There was a mystery at the bottom of the ocean.

"…Or you might disappear." He no longer saw Jayden in the boy's face, held so near to his own physically, and so attached psychologically. There was no originality, only a reflection. A blurred, pulverized reflection.

These were Zack's words.

These were his thoughts.

This was his dream.

And suddenly, nothing was clear.

It was almost like a masquerade. The script had been repeated over and over in his head, and he had a feel for what was to come. But he didn't want that to happen. He wanted an alternate ending. He didn't want it to work out like he remembered. He wanted to wake up. He wanted to stop sinking.

"No," he breathed, lowering his eyes. "I'm not going to disappear." He could feel Jayden's breathing against his forehead. Intimidating, almost.

"How can you be so sure?" He tilted his head to the side, just as a curious puppy would. Every move was all a part of the act.

It wasn't just a performance to Cody. What if he _was_ going to disappear? Cody shot a glance to Zack as if he held the answers to his question. He had not moved once nor spoken a word since Jayden's arrival.

Jayden turned Cody's head back forward with the touch of his boney fingers. "Never mind him."

Cody swatted Jayden's hand away. "Stop touching me." He narrowed his eyebrows. "And would it kill you to back off?" Angrily, he pushed Jayden backwards, surprised at his own force. He stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his own two feet. Realizing his strength, Cody stepped back against the wall. Why did Jayden seem so weak? Was this seriously the same jerk who taunts him after school? Jayden's expression twisted.

_'That was a really dumbass idea.'_ Zack thought. He did not dare to turn his head. He kept himself calm.

Jayden gathered himself back together. "What the hell was that-"

"Shut up!" Cody spoke loudly to him. He took another glance to Zack, hoping he would show something – anything – any sign of life.

Jayden smiled, clearly enjoying Cody's reaction. "You think he's going to help you out of this situation?" He stumbled drunkenly back over to Cody as if they were magnets.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Cody clutched his head with his fingertips. He slumped down against the wall.

Another gush of wind invited itself into the overcrowded room.

"He's not there for you." He kneeled down in front of Cody.

Cody knew this line.

A familiar sound filled the air. There was an emergency. There was an emergency somewhere, for there were sirens outside that chimed in the atmosphere. All too familiar.

"And he never will be."

The sirens got closer and closer, forming dramatic background music for the show. The winds continued to dance, and Cody's thoughts continued to stream through his head in an endless chant of tangle and disarray. He began to hear Jayden's voice in his head, mocking him, teasing him, he knew something that Cody didn't. And he wasn't about to forget it.

"Get out of my head!" He screamed. Cody stumbled up from the ground. "Just stop it!" He attempted to make a run for it, but he was halted. Jayden's arm shot out and his grasp tightened on his ankle, causing him to crash to the ground. There was something Jayden was not quite getting.

"Dude, you're insane. What's your problem?"

Cody pulled his ankle free. He pointed a finger to Jayden, surprised at how his body was shaking. "How did… how did you know all of that?!"

He blinked. "Know all of what?"

"I dreamt this…" Cody stated.

Zack's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I know I have, because this had happened before…" Cody rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but this was reality, and he was having trouble fighting back the fear. Something was too eerie for him to believe.

"Seriously, calm down…" Jayden stepped over to Cody, putting his arm around him in attempt to help him up.

"How many times do I have to tell you to _stop touching me_?!" Cody erupted angrily, fumbling off the ground. He tripped over his bad ankle, wincing at how it was twisted. "And don't try to play it cool now with me, how did you know to say all of that?" The sirens continued to ring in his ears, and he questioned himself as to if they were truly there or just a fragment of his imagination.

Jayden's lips curled into one of his grins. It was almost like he had a signature sign of pedophilia playing across his mouth whenever Cody was around. "Let's just say…" He tapped his chin, looking for the right formation of words. "I'm _drowning_ in all sorts of knowledge."

Cody staggered backwards.

"How else would I know all your little secrets?" He brushed his hand across Cody's face, just as Cody raised his hand against Jayden's. A loud slapping sound echoed through the room, ceasing all further disturbances. Cody lowered his hand, realizing what he just did.

Impulse pumped through his veins as he slapped him again, harder this time. When Jayden showed no response, Cody grabbed him bravely by the collar, proving the differences in their heights. Before he had the chance to scream at him again, Jayden kicked Cody viciously in the shin, being sure to hit his bad leg.

Cody let out a small whimper as he felt the pain shoot up his calf.

"You better watch yourself around me." His voice intimidated Cody. "Or else you'll be a dead man in a matter of minutes." He did not smile. Jayden raised his hand. "Tick tock, tick tock…" His index finger moved back and forth, acting as a pendulum.

Cody raised his head, the fear pulling him deeper.

He had no idea what might happen to him.

He had to get out of here.

_'Run…'_

And with no further ado and no final applause, the main character fled the scene. His silence that he left behind loomed over the two remaining figures. There were no more sirens, and the wind was no longer as desperate. Jayden cocked his head to the side, feeling slightly amused and a bit agitated. "I wonder how far he can limp on a twisted ankle." He said out into the open, not positive that Zack would respond.

Zack let out an inaudible sigh as he tossed the aged cigarette into the night. "I have a bad feeling." He spoke in barely a whisper. His voice was hoarse from lack of contribution to the conversation.

Jayden flopped himself down on the bed as if he just had a long day. "Yeah, I get those a lot, what's it to you?"

"Something's going to happen to him." Zack lowered his gaze to the streets below. "Maybe not now, but it will." He exhaled. "I can feel it."

_'Smart kid.' _Jayden gave him a confused, yet curious glance which Zack avoided. "Uh…? And you care why?"

Zack avoided his comment.

"It's so cold outside."


	13. We Deal, We Deal

**Author's Note:** Hola, thanks to everybody who's been reviewing and following along It really means a lot. Also, if you haven't noticed by now, all of my chapter titles come from different Panic at the Disco songs, and are all copywrited by them.

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The alarm clock beeped on the nightstand, slicing the morning silence like a knife through a block of cement. There was nothing pretty about this sound. The beeping in the air proved to be a nuisance considering Cody could not manage to fall asleep in the first place. He shot a hand out from beneath the sheets and struggled to find the button. Annoyed, he emerged from his bed and pulled the plug. He rubbed his sleepless eyes and listened to Zack roll over in his slumber, obviously not wanting to get up.

"Zack," Cody mumbled aloud. He waited for a response. Realizing he wasn't getting one, he reached behind himself and hurled a pillow in Zack's general direction. "Get up."

He still didn't budge. Cody stumbled out of bed, literally, forgetting the pain in his ankle. It shot up his leg and he toppled over but managed to catch himself before hitting the ground. If he had been smart and iced it last night it probably would not hurt so badly right now. Maybe he was just weak in general. He checked the window behind him. The snowfall was still fairly heavy, and curiosity struck him. _'I wonder if there's even school today…'_ He thought as he forgot about Zack and hobbled out of the room.

Without making eye contact with his mother, Cody slouched onto the sofa and turned on the television. He stared into the moving pictures on the screen like a zombie, watching the school closures fly across the screen.

"Someone didn't get enough sleep last night." Cody ignored the voice from behind him. "How was your evening?"

_'How was my evening?'_ Cody repeated her question in his thoughts. "Fine." Over the course of this week, he had managed to become a better liar. He was not sure if that was necessarily a good trait to have, but it was beneficial at the moment. Thankfully, he turned the television off as his school name flew by. "I'm going back to bed."

"Alright, goodnight."

Cody walked as normally as he could manage back to his room. He reached for the door handle as it was opened for him and he was face to face with Zack. They exchanged surprised glances, clearly not expecting to see one another. Zack stammered something inaudible that Cody avoided. He lowered his eyes and placed his hands on Zack's shoulder, partially for physical support but also to push himself by. "Sorry," Cody mumbled as he disappeared into the darkness behind Zack.

Cody's touch lingered on Zack's shoulder and weighed him down tremendously. That one little confrontment between the two of them was quite possibly the most civil. He turned behind himself and watched Cody collapse back into bed, pulling the covers over his body.

"No school today." Carey called from the kitchen. She noticed that he hadn't turned back around to bed again and raised an eyebrow. "Zack, I don't even think I've seen you willingly get out of bed on a Saturday."

"I'm not really that tired." He said as he plopped down at the kitchen table. "Plus, I'm hungry."

"Well, you can make something yourself, I'm going to get in the shower. I have a meeting later…" It was obvious that she was still aggravated with him, for she didn't make eye contact. By now though, he's used to people being mad at him. The thought of his mom having a meeting to attend almost worried him. On a normal basis she often never had a meeting with Moseby that pertained to her job. Most of the time it was because she was lacking emotion in her music, not putting in enough effort in, etcetera. On a rare occasion it was because she was getting some sort of raise. To Zack, she must be called down because of her lack of effort. And he had a feeling that he was the cause of it. He had been fighting with her so much lately, and he couldn't help but almost feel bad. Basically everyone had the ability to pick a fight with him; it wasn't that hard of a task.

Speaking of picking fights, there was someone who he needed to, no… someone who he _wanted_ to talk to. But he didn't know how. Zack rested his head against the kitchen table and tried to sort out what he was feeling, what he was going through. The problem was he wasn't too sure of _what _he was going through. There was so much that he wanted to tell Cody, but would his brother want to talk to him after what happened last night? He sat contemplating as his mother treaded by the kitchen. He looked up. Her slumped and unhappy posture told him that she was not looking forward to this meeting.

"I'll be back whenever." She announced as she left the suite.

He took that as his cue to move; he never felt comfortable with his mom around anymore.

Zack silently crept back into his room, taking a glance to Cody's bed, expecting him to be there, which he wasn't. Cody kept his eyes focused outside the window. With ghostlike and undisruptive steps he sauntered over to where Cody was standing, uttering a quick "Hey," which came out in barely a whisper.

Cody glanced over to him. "You're actually talking to me now?" When he didn't give him an answer right away Cody turned to face him resting a shoulder on the glass. He crossed his arms over his chest as a sign that he was all ears.

Zack lowered his head. "Yeah, um…" He awkwardly shuffled his weight. "I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday."

Cody scowled. "_You_ wanted to apologize?"

Slightly taken aback by his brother's expression, Zack tried to defend himself. "Yeah, I wanted to say sorry for what Jayden did to you. He told me to tell you-"

"Woah, okay hold on a minute…" Cody began to raise his voice. "You came here to apologize for something that _Jayden_ did?"

Zack blinked. "Yeah, he told me to, so I-"

"Zack, I don't want an apology from him," he paused. "I want one from you!" To Zack, Cody sounded a bit angry, and he didn't really feel like head on challenging that.

"Why won't you just talk to me? You barely even acknowledge me anymore. In fact, I'm surprised you're even talking to me right now. I thought you might have had something better to say but no, you had to go ahead and talk for someone else. You had to repeat what someone else said. God forbid you actually speak from your own mind for once."

Zack glowered to him. One of his least favorite things was being insulted. "You know what? Maybe I might have if you didn't just call me out like that. Lately, _you've_ been the one to start all the arguing anyways. You're not even giving me the chance to say anything."

"Oh, come on now Zack." Cody rolled his eyes. "Like you would have actually said something to me that wasn't offensive. I wish you'd just admit that you can't even speak for yourself anymore."

"Why are you suddenly being such a jerk to me?" Zack's voice rose as well. This time he didn't even mean to start a commotion.

"Seriously?" Rage started to boil. "Do I really need to give you a reason out loud? I'm only being a jerk to you because it's exactly what you're being to me!"

Zack's phone beeped somewhere on the ground. As he went to go hunt for it, Cody spread out his arms to keep him back. "Why don't you just stop talking to him?"

He shoved him aside. "Why don't you just stop breathing?"

Cody didn't have a response to that. He simply dropped his arms in defeat and let Zack by. He didn't watch him hunt down his phone. He glanced out the window and noticed that there had been a lull in the storm, halting the harsh weather. Outside, he could see nothing. It was too white and it hurt his eyes. The clouds darkened off in the distance and he prayed that they weren't heading his way.

"I gotta go." Zack announced as he slipped into a pair of jeans. He paused at the door for a moment then took off again when Cody showed no movement.

When he was sure he was gone, Cody turned around to face an empty room. He solemnly wished that he hadn't tried to argue with Zack. Things were bad enough as it was.

His ears perked up as he heard another beep. "He forgot his phone…," Cody murmured to himself. Some things about Zack never change, such as his inability to remember things that were important. "…Maybe he left it here on purpose." Cody crept over to Zack's side of the room, locating the device easily. He flipped it open, feeling like he was breaking some sort of rule. _'I'd be pretty mad if he started going through my phone…_' He was disappointed that the message was from his phone service and not someone more interesting.

"You have gone over your designated text message rate for this month. Your text messages will be currently disabled." Cody read aloud robotically. "Really now? You've used them up already?" Another thing for their mother to disapprove of.

He scrolled to the next most recent message in his inbox and it was no shock who it was from. "Meet me at the pier." Cody read that text message aloud as well. "Wow, that's really specific." He closed the phone.

_'Is he crazy, just leaving like that in this weather?'_ He thought as he changed out of his sweatpants and into something more suitable for the arctic weather. There were multiple piers in Boston, but he had some idea of where they might be headed. He didn't hesitate on his next thoughts.

_'I guess I must be crazy too then…'_

He left the hotel.


	14. You’re a Regular Decorated Emergency

**Author's Note:** Go listen to "Camisado" by Panic at the Disco. Thank you for reading.

***This chapter is told from Zack's point of view!**

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Why the hell had I agreed to come out there like that, especially in this kind of weather? I huddled closer into my sweatshirt, wishing that I had remembered to grab a piece of clothing that didn't so easily absorb the snow. Why did I have to leave my home like this in the middle of a snowstorm? This couldn't wait till tomorrow? Then again, I shouldn't have obeyed his command in the first place. I shouldn't have spoken to him at all. Ever. And it was just the little things. Why had I let him sit with me at lunch that one day? I should have known from the first day I ever spoke to him that he was bad news. And nothing that I could have done would have changed that. I could feel the cold seep through to me and I shivered as I saw him standing there like a phantom.

I saw him and I wanted to run, just like I always do. Yet I knew that he already saw me and any attempt of departure would somehow backfire. I quickened my pace as I noticed him staring me down, the only thing holding me back was the thought that I had no idea what he wanted. I wished that I had more power to fight back to him.

I also wished that my feet would somehow freeze to the ground so I didn't have to move, but it felt as if I was treading through thick cotton. This wasn't the hard snow that you could barely pick up your feet in. This was kind of cotton snow that was perfect for making snowmen in the middle of winter break.

As I stepped up to him I noticed that he had begun to text somebody, and he scowled at his phone when he closed it. He looked to me but I didn't dare speak. What had started out as a simple friendship somehow turned into a mere master-apprentice relationship.

"Check your phone." He said to me. I thought for a moment and registered his question as I noticed my phone was elsewhere. I patted down my pockets; nothing.

"I…must have forgotten it. What did you need?"

He rolled his eyes. "Money. What else do I ever ask for from you?"

You have no idea how much you are asking from me, Jayden. "Didn't I just give you money yesterday? I'm all out anyways. I'm broke."

"Just because _you're_ broke doesn't mean_ he_ isn't."

He acted as if Cody had any money left either. I don't want to know how enraged he would be if he found out I've been taking from him, too. "I'm not going to steal money from Cody so you can buy drugs."I grew sick to my stomach as I watched him pull out a small package from his coat pocket.

"Don't act like I'm keeping it from you or something. Here's your share."

I took it from him and peered inside. Less than what was there the day before. I closed it and handed it back to him. "You're short."

"I am not."

Liar. "Yes, you are. Where's the rest." I don't approve of myself doing that stuff, but hey, I paid for it. Plus, most of it I sell to other people. Jayden never asked me how I keep coming up with money.

"I sold it to a couple of friends. They offered me a decent price so I took them up on it."

"Then, where is it?"

"Where's what?"

I hate it when he plays dumb and I began to grow infuriated. Was he serious? "Where's _Waldo_, Jayden. Where's the money you got?" He was such an idiot.

He checked his pocket like I had done when I was looking for my phone. "Oh, I seemed to have left it at home." He mocked me, and then grew serious. "We have a deal, remember?"

Again, he had to play that card. And once again, I am guilty. "You know, I think you've been using me more than you think you're 'saving my brother's life.'"

"Do you _want_ him to die?"

"No, but I know you wouldn't hesitate to kill him." It's sad to know that that was the truth. I'm not supposed to tell anybody, but he's almost killed a man before. A lack of sobriety and hatred towards a person can do that to you, I guess.

"That's not what you told me before."

I didn't respond to that and he spoke up again.

"So this means you can get me the money?"

"What money?" We both turn around, surprised to see him standing there. He didn't look very pleased with what he just heard. In fact, he almost looked slightly terrified. If he had just heard that there's a possibility of him being killed, wouldn't he ask about that? Why does he care about the money? What does he know? Why was my heart suddenly pounding?

"Cody, what are you doing here?" I asked him and he pulled out my phone.

"I think I should ask you what_ you're_ doing here." This was the first time I've really looked at him for a while. He looked so tired and worn down. There were bags under his eyes and he looked so pale. The color was completely drained from his face. He looked worse than I felt. And I felt pretty bad to begin with. "What were you thinking, coming out here like this? It's freezing out." He looked to Jayden and frowned. "And what are you talking about, anyways?"

Jayden smirked. "There seems to be some confusion as to what you're brother is doing here."

Cody nodded his head once. I know he didn't understand, but it was probably better that he didn't. He wasn't safe here and he wasn't safe in general.

"You see, Zack…-"

Insane lie time. "He's helping me with school work. You know, although he comes off as a bit stupid he's actually pretty smart and he helps me with my homework for money-"

"Then, why do you need the drugs? And why might I be killed?"

Shit, okay, maybe he did hear about that.

"You might be killed if Zack doesn't do as I say." I felt him glaring to me. "Get me the money, or he's a goner. You know that."

"Zack…?" He didn't question how atrocious the lie I had just told was. He seemed to not care that I've been lying to him so much lately.

"Jayden, you aren't getting the money." I took a deep breath and tried to stand up for myself. "I'm sick of this. I'm tired of constantly following you around and agreeing to everything you tell me to do. I'm done with this and I'm through with you. C'mon Cody, we're going home." I started to walk in the opposite direction praying that he would just let me walk away and leave things at that. And then I heard someone gasping.

I turned around to Cody being strangled by the monster, and for some reason, I can't turn around to stop him. For some reason, I could not move.

"We had a deal, Zack." The gasping didn't stop. "When I told you I was out to kill, you told me to kill him. Remember?"

I did remember. And it was so wrong of me. I didn't know what I was thinking. I wasn't completely there, if you know what I mean. I couldn't look Cody in the face. I watched his hands as he tried to pry Jayden's thin claw-like fingers off of his throat. I didn't know whether to disappear or help him. My feet froze to the ground as I wished they would have done earlier. I couldn't speak.

"Your brother won't listen to me." He began to speak to Cody.

Please don't kill him.

"He's not there for you."

Please, please put him down.

"And he never will be."

Please…

"Goodbye."

I listened as I could feel my little brother's scream echo in my bones. I listened as the scream became enveloped underwater.


	15. We're All Too Small to Talk to God

**Author's Note:** THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER. To be honest I really love this story but I know if I drag it out too long I'll run out of things to say, so I'm ending it here. Thank you to EVERYONE who's been reviewing and following along, it truely means a lot to be and I'd especially appreciate you're feedback on this chapter since it's the last one. Thank you all so much, you make me happy!

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**Zack's Point of View**

I heard the cracking of ice beneath his body where he fell through the surface. I heard the splashing sound of freezing water and that broke my trance. I whirled around and took in the scene, which had one too few people for my liking. And then I see him. Him just standing there smugly, as if he had any reason to try and be rid of Cody. As if he had any reason to be smiling his twisted little grin; I knew that if any sound were to be projected from his thin lips it would be the sound of a cackle. A twisted laugh that would ring in my ears and I would never forget it.

Bastard, bastard, bastard.

With one swift swing of my right fist, I was able to knock some of those pearly whites right out of his jaw. I heard a cracking sound and people turned their heads. Some of them were on a cell phone. Some of them were too caught up in the winter storm to notice anything, and the sound of me punching him again and again and again was drowned by the sounds of the wind, as well as the frantic splashing from behind me.

"Cody!" I yell as I hurdled over the broken barrier that separated the sidewalk from the lake, the mind from the body, the living from the dead… reality from a dream. I didn't know what to do, for he was too far for me to grab. I panicked. I could hear sirens emerging, and I prayed that they were headed this way. It hadn't even crossed my mind to call 911. I was too caught up in that stupid kid. The stupid tall kid who decided that one day that he was going to sit next to me in the cafeteria. That stupid kid who decided to deface the basement of the school and then blame it on me. Jayden who used me to hoard his illegal substances so that he wouldn't get caught. Jayden, Jayden, Jayden; I couldn't get his name out of my head.

I could feel him put me in a headlock, and I wasn't sure if it was meant to hurt me or if he was trying to be playful. He never spoke and he felt weak, which I took to my advantage, just as I had done earlier. I dug my fingernails into his flesh and I screamed my little brother's name again and again, and then the weight was lifted off my back, and then I was pulled away. There was the sound of many footsteps and people, and when I turned around, Jayden was gone.

I never saw him again.

-x-

**Cody's Point of View**

He had his hands tight around my throat and I could barely breathe. Not that I was of any use anymore, considering the fact that now I realized my brother had wanted to get rid of me. I watched the veins in his arms pulse a bold shade of blue, a shade that contrasted to his dull eyes that only held the lust for destruction. I watched his strength overtake mine and I stopped trying. I held my breath. Jayden's face was etched in my head as I was thrown over. I felt myself hit it and I heard a snap. I crashed through the thin sheet of ice and into the water, and I've never been so cold in my entire life.

I could hear my heart in my throat and the sirens in the air. I couldn't see anything but the pitch blackness that had somehow consumed my view of the outside world. I only wanted to see him. But he wasn't there for me. And I wasn't sure if he ever would be.

-x-

**Normal Point of View**

"Ah!" Cody shot his body up in bed. He looked around himself, but could not fully take in what he was seeing. '_Was I dreaming?'_ He rubbed his eyes. Spots, lots of spots. Many dark and glowing spots clouded his vision. He closed his eyes again, and then opened them. Blinded, and then a double take. '_Where Am I?' _He glanced down at himself and it was clear that he was in the hospital, and it was also clear that he had been out for a while, and so was Zack.

'_Am I hallucinating?'_ He rubbed his aching head and cleared his throat to speak. His head hurt like hell. "Zack?" Cody mumbled aloud and he nudged his sleeping shoulder. He was slumped forward in a chair placed next to his bed with his head in his arms on the mattress. He groaned and slowly lifted his head up from the bed. "Zack, wake up," he said with a stronger voice.

"Cody…?" He said slowly, registering where he was and what was happening.

"Zack, what's going on?"

Zack blinked once, twice, and then a huge smile spread across his mouth. "Cody!" He exclaimed and embraced his brother tightly. "I'm so happy you're okay!"

Cody didn't know whether to hug him or slap him. Zack had wanted him dead, didn't he? Why was he so glad that he was still alive? "You're…happy?"

"Of course I am!" Zack gave Cody more room and sat back down at his chair. "You were out all night, I was worried," he said more seriously.

"But…what happened? How did I get here?"

"Well," Zack sighed. "Jayden threw you over and you crashed into the water. Someone nearby noticed and called the police for help. Luckily, we were close to the police station, and of course when you call 911 the fire department and the ambulance had to appear as well, so they freed you and sent you here. Mom was here too, she just stepped out for a bit. She let me skip school today in case you woke up when she was out."

Cody listened intently to Zack's rambling, but he was sure he was skipping over the details. "What happened to Jayden?"

Zack looked down at his hands as if trying to form something to say, but then he realized that the truth would be the most preferable right now. "We didn't figure it out until this morning. He was arrested, but not until after he's out of the hospital as well."

Cody's eyes grew wide. "He's in the hospital too?"

"Yeah, I kinda uh," Zack paused. "I kind of took some revenge on his face. Literally."

"Wow. That must have been a lot of revenge if he ended up here." He clutched the back of his head as he could feel his heart beating a little bit faster on the monitor. He felt as if he might faint.

"Well, he's not as strong as people assume he is. He's as thin as a twig and he can't do much physical damage." Zack joked around but he was serious.

Cody nodded and Zack knew that he needed to say more. There was a lot he hadn't been telling him. He took a deep breath.

"Cody, I never meant for any of this to happen, okay? I really didn't. We started off as friends, and then something about him just made me so mad at the world, so he cut me off from it, and started using me as a source for money and all kinds of other things. And he threatened you, so I knew that I couldn't just say no. I was angry at you, I don't remember why, but in the end I was just doing all of this to protect you. I knew that if I made too much contact with you, he would have gotten suspicious." He sighed and looked out the large window at the back of the room and the weather reflected the Earth's mood today.

The snow outside made the white room glow brighter than the florescent lights and the pale tile floors. Everything was reflected from every direction and it was almost as if they really were in a dream. Only this dream was different, for there were no monsters and there was no disorder. There was only the bright feeling of knowing that you could wake up and not fear the worst. You could sleep without feeling the nightmares and knowing that someday, they could quite possibly come true.

"So…" Cody's gaze followed Zack's out the window. "Most of what you did was just an act? Just to protect me?"

Zack nodded his head. "Yeah."

"And you're not lying?"

"I wouldn't lie to you about that. I know I've been lying to you lately but I'm telling the truth, and…" He looked over to Cody, and they locked eyes. "I'm sorry. For all of it. Really, I am. I'm so sorry, Cody."

Cody took in his apology, and that was all he needed to hear. He smiled lightly as a rush of pain found its way to the front of his head, and everything went black once again.

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_End._


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